Bills quarterback Josun Allen signed a long-term contract three years ago, but the deal has aged and is no longer in force.
Since then, the market has risen dramatically, with many less-than-talented quarterbacks signing better contracts.
Since Friday, with Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa agreeing to a four-year contract extension paying $53.1 million and Packers quarterback Jordan Love signing a new four-year deal paying $55 million, Allen’s average salary of $43 million has become even more prominent.
Those new contracts came just a day after Bills general manager Brandon Beane defended Allen against those who say he is overrated.
“If I’m going to use ‘rating’, I would say it’s underrated before it’s overrated.” Bean said.
And many people would also say “underpaid” when using “under.”
Sure, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a surprisingly low salary of $45 million a year, but the Chiefs modified Mahomes’ long-term contract last year to exceed the cash flow of the contract Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow signed. That didn’t happen with Allen.
The challenge for the Bills will be how to shore up the contract of a quarterback who is expected to play even more this year than in recent years given the departures of receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Allen’s contract was designed to have a low cap hit over the first three years ($10.2 million, $16.3 million, $18.6 million), with a steep increase looming.
This year’s restructuring brought that number down to $30.3 million. It’s set to exceed $60 million next year. If Allen signs a new contract, they’ll need to figure out how to structure the deal in a way that makes the cap charge manageable.
Either way, every new market-level quarterback contract makes Allen look worse. Eventually, the Bills and Allen need to work out a new deal.
To his credit, Allen has yet to show any signs of frustration or impatience. As players on other teams are constantly learning, at some point the wheels have to start squeaking.
