Doug Williams' original five-year contract expired at the beginning of the year. A published report of player salaries revealed that Williams, who had led the team to playoff appearances three out of the preceding four seasons, was the sixth-lowest-paid starting quarterback in the NFL. Eighteen NFL backup quarterbacks also had salaries higher than Williams'. His $120,000 salary was the same as that of Atlanta Falcons backup Mike Moroski, and behind that of both Dallas backup quarterbacks and some teams' punters and kickers. Buccaneer spokesman Rick Odioso responded that Williams had refused several offers to increase his salary and extend his contract, instead preferring to play the contract through to the end. Odioso also pointed out that the reported base salaries did not reflect performance and signing bonuses, on which the Buccaneers depended more heavily than most NFL teams. Believing his worth to have been around $400,000, which was in line with what most top NFL quarterbacks were being paid, Williams had rejected the team's contract offers in previous years in an attempt to force the team to pay him fairly or trade him.