Bucs’ Baker Mayfield, wife Emily at home in Tampa helping kids

TAMPA ― It is truly his team and now his town. So, Baker Mayfield and his wife, Emily, want to continue to give back to the community by helping underprivileged children in Tampa Bay.

A lot has happened for Mayfield since he signed as an undrafted free agent in March 2023 with the Bucs, his fourth team in 18 months.

He led them to an NFC South title and wild-card win over the Eagles, resulting in a new three-year, $100 million contract.

Now the Mayfields have a new home on Davis Islands and a new baby girl, 5-month-old Kova Jade. But they want to help other children, too. Sunday, they hosted their second annual “Be the Ball” event at Topgolf.

“The theme is to level the playing field,” Emily Mayfield said. “Baker and I both had amazing childhoods and always had everything at our fingertips that we could possibly need, but that’s not the case for everyone. We just want to use our platform to help level the playing field and provide resources to mostly children in the community that we love.”

Partnering with the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County (ELCHC), the Mayfields want to support early childhood literacy programs.

Hillsborough is the seventh-largest school district in the U.S. with 220,000 kids, and 40% of them are considered economically disadvantaged, Emily Mayfield said.

“You just see everything differently as a mom and a dad,” she said. “We were kids once, so we kind of understand it. But until you’re looking at your own baby and you want to give them the world and more, you don’t fully understand it.

“So, we’ve been so blessed to have an army around us to help the community. I can’t even put myself in the position to what it would be like to not be able to give my baby girl everything. It definitely hits different.”

The couple’s efforts last year helped 226 kids, Emily Mayfield said.