Baker Mayfield Reveals How He 'Resets' After 'Tough' Buccaneers Losses (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Baker Mayfield revealed how he resets after a "tough loss" during the season when speaking with PEOPLE exclusively as quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• The NFL QB opened up about the highs and lows he's experienced throughout his eight-year career in the league

• He also spoke about his latest partnership with Every Man Jack as the face of its brand evolution centered on grit, determination and embracing modern masculinity

Baker Mayfield knows how to win, but he also knows how to lose... like a champ.

As an NFL quarterback, 30, who's built an eight-year career in the NFL, Mayfield — who recently wrapped a tough season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which they narrowly missed making the playoffs — opened up to PEOPLE exclusively about his fighter mentality, and how it gets him through the highs and lows of each game.

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Mayfield is praised for his personal grit, and that was a big factor this season in particular, as he finished out a major comeback and redemption year for the fiery QB. The Bucs were even Super Bowl contenders for a moment, until a division rival crushed their hope for a playoff berth.

"My whole life story, I've had to work for everything I've had, between being under-recruited in high school, to walking on twice... understanding that you have to put the work in to get results," Mayfield tells PEOPLE exclusively while talking about his new partnership with Every Man Jack.

"A lot of people just see the success, the end result, but it's about the process," he explains, continuing, "It's about going through it, having grit no matter what you're going through and pushing through."

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Mayfield, who is the face of Every Man Jack's new Premium Collection, tells PEOPLE that his "don't give up" mentality aligns with the ethos of the men’s personal care brand's latest campaign.

"That's the message that we're trying to get across, 'For Men Who Put in the Work,' " he says of the campaign title, emphasizing, "That hit at home already — and then obviously, just when it comes to the self-care aspect, making sure that I'm fresh and look good."

In sports, determination and confidence, can take a hit after a loss. Mayfield, however, tells PEOPLE how he combats negative thinking when things don't go his way on the field so that he can get back out and perform.

"After a tough loss... it's not like it's deep thinking, but replaying the game or whatever it is, collecting those thoughts and then getting myself cleaned up, take a deep breath and being like, 'Okay, it's going to be okay. There's nothing I can't handle and let's go tackle the next challenge'," he says.

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"'Let's go see if I can fix whatever just happened or do it better next time', " he continues. "So for me, it's just taking time, whether it's sitting outside or getting a workout in, whatever it is to clear my mind. That reset for me really happens right after that. Shower, get cleaned up and go from there."

Mayfield — who welcomed his first child, daughter Kova Jade Mayfield, with his wife Emily in April 2024 — credits fatherhood as his newfound escape from the game, and another way he resets after losses during the season.

"Being a dad of an almost two-year-old, honestly, hanging out with her. We have our good routines right now. We go on a daddy-daughter lunch date every Friday. To get away, to reprioritize my thoughts and where I'm at, for me, that's a huge reset," says the soon-to-be dad of two.

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Game play aside, Baker is winning as person. He was nominated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, a prestigious honor that recognizes his on-field performance and community involvement through the Baker & Emily Mayfield Foundation.

That's the legacy the playmaker tells PEOPLE he hopes others understand about him.

"People tell you all the time you're a football player and all this, but the football window in your life is very, very small compared to the rest of it," he says. "So having that mindset of, there's much more to life than just football, how can I actually use the gifts that I've been given to inspire that change?"

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"It's my story then going from there to the perseverance and grit aspect of it," he continues. "It's an underdog mentality, the story that you have to work for everything you get, and you have to do it consistently — and that's the only way you can see results."

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Mayfield's been hit with a number of titles throughout his career to date: franchise quarterback, journeyman, comeback story. But as for the one he resonates with most right now, he was clear on where he stands.

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"I don't blame people for whatever narrative or label they want to put because I've done a lot, done a lot of stupid things, learned from it, moved on, had great moments, ups and downs, all that," he says. "But for me... I'm most proud of is the leadership aspect of it."

"It's show by example and lead by example," he continues. "And then also the verbal aspect of leadership is, how do I inspire and get the best out of the people that I'm surrounded with? And to me, that's the most important part. That's my greatest attribute."

Read the original article on People