The Facts: Godwin finds himself in a somewhat unique position. He's a Super Bowl champion free agent, and he's in line to get paid -- it just might not come from the employer of his fellow champions. Tampa Bay has a cast of key contributors it will hope to retain after catching fire and riding its hot streak to a Super Bowl LV victory over the Chiefs. Godwin is among them, but he's set to command a healthy salary on the open market, presenting him with a difficult balancing act between compensation and competition. "I think I'm in the same boat as a lot of players," Godwin said. "Like, you want to get some long-term security, you want the team to commit to you, as well. I think an extension would be ideal, but at the end of the day if the franchise [tag] is what happens, then that's what I gotta do and then we'll revisit later. I want to be in Tampa, but at the end of the day I want to get paid too."

Diehards Line:Assuming Godwin lands among the likes of Jarvis Landry, Cooper Kupp and Stefon Diggs -- players to whom he's statistically comparable at the time they signed their second contracts -- he'll make anywhere between $14.4 million and $15.75 million per year. And with the continuing rise of market value (even amid a salary cap crunch), he'll likely command more, safely putting him in the $16 million range for 2021. Godwin isn't naive in his approach to free agency, understanding that the biggest payday could land him with a team in the polar opposite situation of the Buccaneers, who are entering 2021 bent on repeating as champions with Brady entering the final year of his two-year, $50 million deal. He values happiness more than maximum income, he said, and he knows he'll be more than content in Tampa Bay. But the Buccaneers will have to figure out how to create space to pay Godwin near his market value. Even with a hometown discount, the financial gymnastics are still going to be difficult. Sticking the landing isn't as easy as fiddling with a calculator, especially in this unique financial landscape. As they currently stand right now, the Buccaneers don't have enough cap space -- $13.36 million with a projected cap of $180.5 million to pay Godwin commiserate with his production. And the Buccaneers still need to find a way to keep 2020 franchise tag recipient Shaquil Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Lavonte David and Rob Gronkowski, among others. Stay tuned.