MARCH 5: The official terms of the deal are out, and Shakir did not quite hit $15MM per year. Buffalo has locked down its leading receiver on a four-year, $53MM deal, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia notes. The $13.25MM AAV checks in 23rd at receiver.
Adding one void year to the end of the deal, the Bills will have Shakir on a $2.59MM cap number in 2025, Buscaglia adds. As mentioned last week, Buffalo securing Shakir through 2029 at a rate outside the top 20 represents impressive value. In addition to a $7MM signing bonus, a $9MM 2026 option bonus is present in the deal.
FEBRUARY 25: Despite acquiring Amari Cooper from the Browns, the Bills did not move Khalil Shakir down in their pass-game pecking order. Months later, the team’s reliable slot receiver landed an extension.
The Bills are signing Shakir to a four-year deal, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report. The fourth-year slot agreed to terms on a deal that will max out at $60.2MM and include $32MM guaranteed at signing. Helping to move the negotiations across the goal line: an $18MM payment in Year 1, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds. The Bills have since announced the deal.
Although the near-$15MM AAV number certainly could be classified as a win for the Bills, they are authorizing a full guarantee that comes in just inside the top 20 among active receiver contracts. Shakir’s at-signing guarantee nearly matches Nico Collins‘ on his $24MM-per-year deal; though, the Texans only secured a three-year extension for Collins. The Bills managed to keep Shakir from testing free agency in 2026 on a four-year pact, which will keep his connection with Josh Allen in place for years to come, as the deal runs through the 2029 season.
Considering Shakir’s importance in the post-Stefon Diggs Bills passing game, the Boise State alum agreeing to a four-year deal at what appears to be less than $15MM per year in base value is interesting. But $32MM guaranteed at signing represents a nice haul for a player who initially worked as a low-end target in a passing attack fronted by Diggs and Gabe Davis. Shakir came on during the second half of the 2023 season, however, and functioned as Buffalo’s nominal WR1 following last year’s Diggs trade.
Shakir, who turned 25 earlier this month, accumulated 821 receiving yards last season. Allen’s most reliable chain-mover added four touchdown receptions, being a surehanded player for an offense in transition. In addition to losing Diggs, the Bills let Davis walk (to Jacksonville). Their offense still hummed, as Allen collected MVP honors. While the team did trade for Cooper to help boost its offense, the 1,000-yard regular was more role player than go-to target. Although Cooper certainly contributed in commanding top coverage, he took a backseat to Shakir. This contract will ensure Allen can keep building a rapport with a Day 3 success story.
The Bills will have this Shakir contract to pair with Keon Coleman‘s rookie deal, which runs through the 2027 season. As the team may soon need to give James Cook a deal similar to this one, locking in Shakir checks off an early-offseason part of its to-do list. Extensions for Christian Benford, Terrel Bernard, Gregory Rousseau and Connor McGovern may also be in the cards for a Bills team that has done some good work in the middle and late rounds during recent drafts.
That has not translated to a Super Bowl berth yet, as ill-timed injuries (and the Chiefs brick wall) continue to impede the AFC East powerhouse. But the Bills will enter 2025 with a clearer Super Bowl path, after the 2024 offseason was viewed more as a retooling period.
I like it.
15mil/yr is team friendly. For a slot only guy – its probably a smidge high, but not enough to complain about.
A smidge high? Amon Ra St Brown got double this last off-season, and while I love St Brown, Shakir isn’t that far off from a skill perspective.
Aman st brown also works outside.
You’re right, but so does Shakir. He took 27% of his snaps on the outside in 2024.
Oh right – when Cooper and Coleman were hurt out of necessity.
But yes – lets compare St Brown to Shakir, I guess.
I mean, career high was was 4tds? 800-ish yds?
Exactly the same right?
I think your comparison is off.
I never said exactly the same.
From a skillset and usage standpoint, Shakir & St Brown are about as close as you’ll find in the NFL, though. St Brown has certainly been more productive, but you couldn’t convince me he’s been twice as productive or is twice as valuable as Shakir like their AAV’s suggest, and that’s my point.
Shakir has long spent considerable time both playing in the slot AND outside. He played outside over 40% of the time in 2022, and over 20% of the time in 2023 as well.
Calling Shakir’s contract an overpay or a “smidge high” is ridiculous. Let’s call it what it is. It’s an incredibly team-friendly deal, that is much less than he’d receive on the open market.
I bow to your superior knowledge, and willingness to ignore experts.
And given the large disparity in their production history, its brave to double down even if a slight wiggle. ( I never said exactly the same!)
Nice work!
I knew you’d see the light.
I never use sarcasm to mock people with strong opinions who are wrong.
Nope. Not me.
Ignore experts? Lol.
The Bills front office aren’t experts? They’re the ones who signed him to the contract you view as an overpay.
Ill let you sign WR contracts since you seem to understand what a slot receiver is. Right?
Im sure you know – for example that many teams move the WRs around.
But you want to use the most extreme outliers to make a case?
Fine.
But Shakir is not an outside receiver to anyone but you. The fact that your own stat proves it should be a clue.
In his rookie year he struggled to get on the field. Last year – in a year they struggled to get separation y still did not put him outside.
Why is that? Because he is far more effective in the slot.
ARSB moves inside quite a lot – but the two are not similar. At all. Not in body type, skill or usage
If you think a team paying 15 mill for a slot WR is fair – thats a different point. There may even be a relevant argument related to the cap. But you didn’t make that point – you immediately went to a weak outlier argument.
Oh man, you’re really reaching now. Lol. Why don’t you go back and read the previous comments before you make yourself look even dumber.
I never said Shakir wasn’t a slot. I said, like St Brown, he plays outside on occasion, and I provided the snap counts to back that up.
You can keep flailing all you want, trying to justify how the Shakir contract is an overpay all you want, but in all these idiot replies you’ve made, you haven’t furthered your point one single iota.
The Shakir extension is one the most team-friendly deals we’ll see this off-season.
Cope.
Cope!
Amon Ra & St Brown are eerily similar in both their skillsets and their body types.
Shakir is 5’11 & 196lbs. St Brown is 5’11 and 197lbs. Both are ultra-reliable slot receivers with low drop rates who excel in run blocking.
Amon Ra has been more productive, but there’s probably not a better play-style comp to St Brown than Shakir.
Its your story man. Who am I to tell you not to take a few liberties?
Lol. You’re so defeated, you can’t even provide specifics. What liberties?
ARSB
link to pro-football-reference.com
Khalil
link to pro-football-reference.com
ARSB also played about 50 percent out wide. I will remake a point here because I know you missed it – 30 percent in the slot is less than 50. It really is. You should look that up!
And the Bills were desperate for outside separation. Yet – they still refused to use him there unless forced.
It may be that he is smaller and less suited that AMSB for snaps outside? Is that possible? IDK but the Bills dont like him there.
Just a reminder that the argument isn’t that Shakir isnt slot – is that he isn’t outside WR. A position typically more valuable in the NFL.
I felt the need to restate that bc you will go rogue if I dont. Even a good story needs framework!
I mean, as much as I live Shakir, his best year isn’t even ARSB’s worst – but I know that inconvenient for you: bc it means tou choose an xtreme outlier (feel free to keep ignoring this point)
You could have easily looked this up yourself but please go on. (The height weight are pretty easy to find, I think even you can manage!)
I like fiction! Do let simple facts get in the way if a good yarn if it makes you feel better!
Im done here. Ill let you have the last word.
I cant wait to read your exciting conclusion to your story!
Those broken links really prove your point that Shakir is being overpaid. Lol.
The height & weight measurements I listed are the official numbers from the NFL combine, not the famously faked numbers colleges provide and Football Reference lazily uses, so that’s yet another miss on your point.
Is there anything you can get right?
You’ve made what–20 replies? You still haven’t honed in on a single valid argument for why Shakir’s contract is an overpay, so I don’t blame you for finally giving up.
Ok a few notes.
Clearly you are an experienced fiction writer – and this is unsolicited advice. So I apologize.
You start out with a wild premise – which is good for fiction. You use a few incorrect details to help tell a story . Which does a good job of drawing the reader in.
You even ask the reader to suspect disbelief, but not too much.
But you fail to stick the ending. You ignore critical plot details, ( purposefully it seems ) and the readers will put up on it. It leaves you with less credibility. Just saying “not uh!” While ignoring replies with details is vague and adds no value.
Your readers deserve better.
C-
Fiction writing still requires research – including basic internet searches. And you need to apply logic. Even basic logic sometimes.
You gotta be able to follow a thread.
But keep at it. I believe in you.
Bills1 out
My wild premise is Shakir signed a team-friendly deal. In case you didn’t notice, everyone else in the comments agrees.
You’re the only moron arguing it was an overpay–or did you forget that? In 20+ idiotic replies, you haven’t made a single valid argument backing up your assessment.
How embarrassingly pathetic.
You still have a chance, though. You can still explain. How is the Shakir contract an overpay?
Tell us.
Good extension for a player who appears to be one of Allen’s most trusted options. They still need a vertical deep threat I think to open up the offense with more explosive plays.
Shakir was spectacular last year. Finally a sensible WR signing. Value for money for both sides.
Good business before he balls out potentially and becomes more expensive. Bills could easily draft another day 2 WR this class is loaded. Golden, Burden III, Bond, Restreppo, Etc.
He had a good year but really didnt do alot before. Lets hope he stays hungry and healthy.
Allen needs dependable targets. Cook is probably already shaking his head since he had more TDs last year than Shakir has had in his rising career.
The reality is that the pool of viable receivers is far less than the pool of viable running backs. Cook can demand all he wants. His value comparatively is 8-10 million a year with his stats and running back value as it stands now. Losing a Shakir is far more detrimental to the Bills than losing Cook would be.
I disagree simply because Cook had more value, scoring 14 more TDs, while having over 400 yards more from scrimmage. Youre right, Cook wont come close to commanding what Shakir will get per year but Shakir has to keep improving while getting his TD catches to at least 8 per year to justify the extension. Coleman needs to get better as well and after disappointing at the end of the season, Cooper should be gone. He has disappeared in big games too often in his career.
I understand the thought process for sure. I’m saying the likes of Ray Davis and Ty Johnson would have put out similar numbers given the same opportunities as Cook did behind this offensive line. We saw what happened in games when shakir was out of the lineup. Nobody on the team could match his output. That’s why Shakir is of more value to this team.
Glad to see Shakir get paid, his experience as a running back showed in yards after catch capacity. I’m in favor of trading Cook to get Garret on this team, we need defensive help more than keeping the16th graded RB
Well earned raise. It feels reasonable right now given his production and fit within the locker room. In 2 years, given the inflation at the position, this contract will look like a real bargain if he keeps up his quality play.
Remember, the cap went up 20+ mill, wrs are going to get a nice chunk of that.
Very reasonable contract with some big extension candidates looming in 25/26. Cap hits are:
2025: $2.5M ($714k saved)
2026: $6.8M
2027: $13.9M
2028: $15M
2029: $15.9M
2030: $1.82M (void)