When Baker Mayfield signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March in order to compete with Kyle Trask for the open starting quarterback job, he found himself on a completely level playing field. That's the kind of opportunity he hopes to help create for people in the Bay area community.
On Thursday, as the Buccaneers continued the second week of their 2023 training camp, Baker and his wife Emily announced the launching of a new foundation with the stated goal to "provide programs, scholarships and philanthropic opportunities to help others tackle life's challenges in order to BE the best version of themselves." The Baker & Emily Mayfield Foundation will conduct its first even on Sunday, August 27 at Topgolf in Tampa. The event, which will benefit early childhood literacy, is open to anyone interested in participating; visit the Foundation's website for more information and to purchase tickets.
Mayfield's current quest for the Bucs' starting job is not the first time he has had to compete for a spot in his football journey, beginning with winning the starting job at Texas Tech in 2013 as a freshman walk-on. The Mayfields want to help remove the obstacles in life that block many from having a fair shot at success.
"[We're] trying to even the odds," said Mayfield. "Give everybody a chance to have success, whether it be healthy foods, getting kids into after-school activities and sports, healthy lifestyle choices. Just trying to raise everybody's equality so they have a better chance at success and staying resilient through adversity. [We're] just trying to base it off of kind of my story as well, just making sure everybody has the same opportunities."
The Foundation chose to focus its first event on early childhood literacy because they believe it is a "game-changer" for at-risk youth. Through this and future endeavors the Mayfields hope to strengthen their bond with the community and make their philanthropic efforts more focused and impactful.
"God has blessed us so much with this platform," said Mayfield. "This is something that we've been trying to get going but finally found the right team and partnership to be able to do it and get it up and running. We're really, really excited about it, just to be able to give back. I've always been passionate about it, whether it's youth or working with Special Olympics. I've kind of been all over the place, so now to finally have something that we can hone in and truly make an impact, and hopefully get ourselves settled into this community and really be able to do that."
