On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they agreed to terms with nose tackle Vita Vea on a contract extension.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it’s a one-year extension for $30 million, tying him to Tampa Bay for two more seasons. He gets $6 million in new money this season.
The new agreement ends Vea’s hold-in after he reportedly requested a trade from the Buccaneers.
“I always wanted to be a Buc, and I wanted to be a Buc for life,” Vea said on Thursday. “So, I’m glad that we were able to get this done. It’s something that happens every year. It just so happened to be me this year. There’s just stuff that we both had to figure out on both sides, and we got it all squared away. I’m happy we can put that all behind us and move forward from here on out.”
In 2025, Vea started all 17 games and recorded 34 tackles (seven for loss), 13 quarterback hits and 4.5 sacks despite facing the second-highest double-team rate (53.5%) among qualified defensive linemen, according to Next Gen Stats.
Vea, 31, has started 107 of his 112 career regular-season games, totaling 256 tackles (48 for loss), 79 quarterback hits, 35.0 sacks, nine passes defensed, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. His 35.0 career sacks rank eighth in franchise history, and he has recorded the most sacks of any nose tackle in the NFL since 2019. Since the nine-year veteran became a full-time starter in 2019, Tampa Bay has allowed an NFL-low 94.5 rushing yards per game and 4.0 yards per rushing attempt, while surrendering just 84 rushing touchdowns over that span – tied for the third-fewest in the league.
“Vita is exactly the type of player and person we want to build around in Tampa Bay,” Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said in a statement. “He has been a dominant force in the middle of our defense, an exceptional teammate, and a tremendous leader in our locker room. One of the keys to our recent success has been our ability to draft, develop, and re-sign core, foundational players who set the standard for what it means to be a Buccaneer. As one of our team leaders, Vita has played a big role in establishing that winning culture, and we are excited to have him continuing to help lead the way as we pursue our next championship.”
The two-time Pro Bowler has been battling a back injury during training camp, but the goal for Vea is to be ready for Week 1 against the Bengals.
“Yeah, that’s the end goal, but I feel great,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for nine years now, so you kind of understand what to do. I feel like the callus of hitting people is still there. I feel like it never really leaves. It’s in you. I’ve been in good shape. I have a good team surrounded around me, so I feel like I’m ready to go – good to go. We’ll see how it goes. I don’t know the plan yet. We’ll still be able to discuss that over the next few days and figure out from there.”
