Josh Allen is reportedly willing to help out the Bills when it comes to the team getting him signed to a long-term extension.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler via Bleacher Report, Allen is not going to leave money on the table. However, he will structure his deal in a way that could potentially help the team.
Per Fowler on Sunday:
“As was told to me, look, he knows he’s going to get paid eventually, the Bills know he’s going to get paid eventually, so neither side is particularly worried about it. I’m told that Allen loves being in Buffalo enough where he’s willing to structure things, ya know, that helps the team a little bit. Certainly, he’s not going to take a discount by any stretch—he’s a top-five quarterback. But he wants them to stay competitive in future years with him in the fold.”
As a top QB in the NFL, Allen could potentially draw Patrick Mahomes-type money. The Chiefs previously inked their quarterback to a decade-long contract worth $503 million.
Regardless of Allen potentially surpassing that figure or not, he’s still going to get paid a ton. Structuring his contract in a way that helps the team might still be important.
Due to COVID-19 causing a drop in revenues for the NFL, the league’s salary cap went down as well. In 2022, it might jump as high as $208.2M, but that’s not guaranteed.
Considering all the uncertainty, perhaps Allen backloads his contract or sets it up in a way that so it can be tinkered with down the road by the Bills, need be. Recently the Bills and general manager Brandon Beane have restructured several contracts on their roster to stay under the current salary cap while not losing talent in their locker room.