Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield walked into his Wednesday press conference wearing a Michigan Wolverines jersey, the result of a lost bet with head coach Todd Bowles. It capped a brutal 48 hours for the former Oklahoma Heisman winner.
Mayfield’s Buccaneers dropped their season opener 33-27 to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, a game in which he lost three fumbles. The next day, his alma mater, Oklahoma, fell 17-10 to Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“That hurts, that hurts real bad,” Mayfield said of the losses.
Bowles greeted Mayfield at the podium by singing “The Victors,” Michigan’s fight song, drawing laughs from reporters as Mayfield arrived in Wolverine gear. The two had made a bet on the Oklahoma-Michigan matchup, and Mayfield’s $165 million contract didn’t exempt him from covering the wager.
Mayfield chose No. 18 for the jersey, worn by Bowles’ son, Troy, a Michigan defensive player who recorded nine tackles in the win over the Sooners.
Michigan’s win came behind sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood, who went 9-for-17 passing for 111 yards and added 87 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Oklahoma had entered as the favorite after limiting Underwood in a tough outing last season in Norman.
Mayfield has remained a visible Oklahoma booster in recent years, hosting youth camps on the OU campus and cheering on the school’s baseball team during its College World Series title run earlier this year. Despite the losing weekend on both fronts, he showed up Wednesday and made good on his word.
