Of course, Josh Allen is worth every nickel of his massive, six-year, $330 million contract extension in so many ways.
It begins with the premise that if they can back up the Brinks truck and pay it, the Buffalo Bills quarterback is certainly as deserving as anyone of a raise as the NFL opens a new league year with another record salary cap.
And boy, did he get that bump. The deal averages $55 million per year and has the biggest guarantee in NFL history at $250 million. That’s like the next-best thing to having an equity stake in the franchise.
Allen, 28, has earned it, too, given the first NFL MVP award he won a few weeks ago provided another sterling marker of his continued, multi-faceted progress. He has cut down on the turnovers that once dogged him, throwing just six picks in a season that saw him produce 40 TDs (28 passing, 12 rushes). Allen also took the Bills to another AFC title game, which fuels hope that he might eventually take them to the franchise’s first Super Bowl since their glorious 1990s. And you know how hope can sell in the NFL.
Yet on top of all that, the contract that Allen struck with the Bills on Sunday night represented a tentpole for stability. As the new deal reflects, the Bills have some serious alignment with their franchise player, whose connection with the Bills Mafia and Western New York community is palatable.
No, Allen wasn’t going anywhere. The Bills weren’t going to let him get away. He had four years remaining on his previous contract. Four years! And the Bills tore it up for a new one.
That’s smart business from Buffalo’s brain trust, with GM Brandon Beane pushing the buttons. This marks the second big contract extension the Bills have struck with Allen that was done so early that it never even came close to any type of crisis stage.
The last time, in 2021, the Bills took care of Allen two years before his rookie deal expired, with a pact that guaranteed $150 million. Now there’s this one, which locks Allen up through the 2030 campaign, when he’ll be 34.
There are more than a few proven, marquee NFL stars – including quarterbacks – who might wish they had such low-stress contract negotiations.
Let’s take the cases of Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott.
Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens star who earned first-team All-Pro honors and was runner-up to Allen in the MVP balloting, had an elongated contract saga that consumed much energy. Jackson didn’t get his extension (5 years, $260 million) until the team used a franchise tag on him in 2023. And last year, a cloud hung over the Dallas Cowboys during the entire offseason and preseason due to Dak Prescott’s uncertain contract status. Prescott ultimately signed a 4-year, $240 million deal that tops the NFL with a $60 million average, but it wasn’t finalized until the start of the regular season.
Buffalo has undoubtedly been strategic in keeping the peace with Allen. With the biggest piece in the franchise’s puzzle secured and settled, the Bills can manage the remainder of their cap moves with the most significant player locked in.
Within the past week, the Bills re-signed several key cogs. Greg Rousseau, the top edge rusher, got a 4-year, $80 million extension. Linebacker Terrell Bernard re-upped at 4 years, $50 million. And receiver Khalil Shakir is secured for 4 years, at $60.2 million.
Now, as the market officially opens on Wednesday, the Bills can proceed with the knowledge that their star quarterback didn’t need to top Prescott’s APY to agree to his new deal. In other words, Allen left something else on the table to build pieces around him – which just might include another quality receiver.
Allen’s deal, though, might really feel like a bargain in the coming years. The Bills, like every NFL team, will see the cap continue to rise in the coming years because, well, the cap – which has gone up over $50 million the past two years to $279.2 million per team – always goes up when there’s no pandemic. And with the prospects rather bullish that the NFL will strike a new media rights deal before the end of the decade, the Bills seem perfectly situated in not having to worry about the contract status of their best player until, maybe, after the media rights deal and other business matters are recalibrated.
In the meantime, the Bills are a couple of years away from opening their new stadium, which will provide another type of windfall for team owners Terry and Kim Pegula – all while the franchise’s most valuable commodity is locked up until 2030.
Unless, of course, they wind up tearing up Allen’s new deal before then.
After all, Allen just got his new deal without winning a championship. Now imagine the leverage he will have if he can finally take the Bills to the Super Bowl.
Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell