The three most recent monster quarterback extensions broke down into two categories. Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson agreed on shorter-term, value-maximizing deals; Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year extension that reached unprecedented total value but aided the Chiefs in structure. Josh Allen may be willing to take the latter route.
An Allen-Bills deal has hovered on the NFL radar since second-place MVP finisher became extension-eligible in January, and some buzz has emerged indicating Allen might be open to working with the Bills on a friendlier extension structure, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (video link). This does not mean a discount, Fowler adds, but a contract structure that would help the Bills more than a traditional quarterback contract would.
Of the three quarterbacks who have landed on the extension radar this offseason — Allen, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield — Allen is coming off the best season and may have the most incentive to sign a deal this year. Allen did not start his career as well as Jackson or Mayfield, but he has steadily improved — leading up to a dominant 2020 showing.
In April, it did not sound like the Bills and their franchise QB were close on a deal. But Sean McDermott expressed confidence recently while praising the Wyoming product’s fit in western New York.
“Josh and I have spoken,” Bills GM Brandon Beane said in April. “We’d love to get Josh extended, but it has to be a number that works for him and us. We’re all on same page. Josh wants to be here. That gives me hope we’ll get something done at some point. Can’t guarantee it’ll be this year.”
Thanks to picking up Allen’s fifth-year option, Buffalo has him signed through 2022. This will allow the Bills to take a slightly firmer stance in negotiations, even as the salary cap is set to rise to nearly $210MM next year. Allen, 25, battled inconsistency in 2018 and ’19 but led the Bills to a 13-3 season and their first AFC championship game in 27 years. The cannon-armed passer agreeing to a Bills-friendly structure would help Beane and McDermott keep the team on this level.
Mahomes’ 10-year, $450MM contract came in the same offseason in which the Chiefs extended Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones. The Chiefs have since restructured Mahomes’ deal, dropping his 2021 base salary to $990K, and the through-2031 contract will provide the team more flexibility than the Prescott’s four-year, $160MM extension will give the Cowboys. Allen agreeing to a 10-year extension would be surprising, but he and the Bills finding a structural middle ground would certainly be an interesting development for the quarterback market.
Allen saw Tom Brady get paid well but never put the team in a position of weakness
You can b the best QB in the league but if star weapons like WR, RB, and OL can’t be kept what the hell are you going to
Perfect example Deshaun got huge payday and then they had to ship out the one of the best receivers in the game, Deshaun had a terrible yr and now wants out of Texas
Just remember that 30 million for 5 yrs 150 million is equivalent to 1 million for the next 150 yrs!
He will probably have 2 big contracts, hope he understands the need for weapons
That’s actually not true. The value of a dollar diminishes with time.
contracts aren’t adjusted for inflation, so that doesnt matter
Hopefully he puts it all in the rights stocks and index funds to outperform inflation.
You are wrong on so many levels about Watson.
Watson’s cap hit in 2020 was under $10 million, the 19th highest in the league for a QB and only the fifth highest on the Texans. His cap hit of just under $16 million this year is the 11th highest for a QB. His annual cap hits don’t reach into the top levels of the QB fraternity until 2022, which also goes for Hopkins, by the way. If Bill O’Brien and the team had wanted to keep Hopkins, they could have figured out some way to do that in the two years in between the trade and the start of the NFL’s 2022 fiscal year.
Watson had a terrible year? Are you high? He completed 70% of his passes for 8.9 yards per pass attempt, and threw 33 TD’s (6.1%) to 7 INT’s (1.3%) for a passer rating of 112.4. Meanwhile, the running game gained 34 fewer yards per game, and the defense gave up five more points per game, compared to 2019.
If Allen is offered a ten year extension it probably means the Pegula’s are making a long term commitment to Buffalo. That is certainly a good thing as fans up there are among the leagues best.