Josh Allen signed a huge new contract with the Buffalo Bills and set a record in the process. But he did not go after all the money-related records, and he explained why during a recent interview.
Allen spoke with Bills Live for an interview that was published on Wednesday. In the interview, Allen explained why he declined to pursue Dak Prescott’s record for average annual contract value. Prescott is making $60 million per year, while Allen is at $55 million. Allen gave a very humble response.
“What’s $5 million more going to do for my life that I can’t already do right now? It’s not that crazy to me. I live a pretty good life,” Allen said. “I wasn’t looking to kill them in every chance I could. I told my agent that.”
That’s a reasonable response that fans and the Bills will appreciate. Of course, on the other end of that spectrum, you can argue that it’s easy to forgo an extra $5 million per year when you’re already making $55 million per year. And if Allen really wanted to give the Bills a break, he could have signed for much less.
Allen’s contract extension is a six-year deal worth $330 million, including $250 million guaranteed. The amount of guaranteed money is a record for an NFL player.
Many times, the initial big contract a quarterback signs is for show and designed for them to jump to the top of the market before being surpassed when other quarterbacks sign their extensions. As we have seen several times over the years, highly paid quarterbacks often will restructure their contracts to help give their team some more flexibility in free agency. It sounds like that is something Allen will be doing, which is also why he didn’t try to beat Prescott’s mark.
Allen is the reigning NFL MVP. In the 2024 season, he passed for 3,731 yards, 28 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He also rushed for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns.
