Buccaneers offered Mike Evans ‘significantly’ more money before he bolted for 49ers

Addressing the departure of longtime Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, general manager Jason Licht said the organization offered the star player “a significantly higher” deal than the one he ultimately signed with the 49ers.

The six-time Pro Bowler signed a three-year, $42.5 million contract with the Niners, ending his 12-year run in Tampa Bay, despite an aggressive push by the Bucs to get the wide receiver to stay in Florida.

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“We made a significantly higher offer [than the 49ers] and that was just the first offer,” Licht told reporters Wednesday, according to ESPN.

The comments seem to indicate that the Buccaneers would have been willing to continue to negotiate to keep Evans in the fold.

“I feel like we did everything we could,” Licht said. “I had a lot of talks with Mike about that. He and I have a very good, obviously good relationship, but we talked. … When a player’s reached his level for as long as he has, we tend to have deeper discussions with those players, and there was basically nothing we could have done differently. And I feel very strongly about that.”

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Evans’ reps said that the decision “wasn’t about money” in a statement released after he signed with the Niners, and Evans himself reiterated that during his introductory press conference in San Francisco.

Licht, who drafted Evans in 2014, insisted that he wasn’t “betrayed” by the player’s decision, but described it as being “in mourning.”

“Mike gave us everything he had for his 12 seasons here and established himself as one of the best players in the league,” Licht said. “So to say it again, one of our best players we’ve ever had — I don’t feel betrayed. He earned the right. I said that over and over. He earned the right to make this decision.

“And sometimes you’ve got to talk it over with your family and just sometimes you’re just ready for another chapter.”