Ex-NFL QB drops 2-word reaction on Josh Allen's $330,000,000 Bills contract extension

Josh Allen will remain a Buffalo Bill for the foreseeable future, and he is getting monstrously paid for it. And at least one person can only shudder at the development.

On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills were announced to have given their star quarterback and the reigning NFL MVP a six-year, $330-million extension.

The new contract begins this upcoming season, effectively overwriting the remaining four years of his current one. It will last through 2030 and includes a $250-million guarantee - the largest in NFL history. It will also have the highest four-year cash flow of any contract, accoording to a source for NBC.

Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky had a succinct pair of words upon learning of the news:

"Good Lord"

The contract extension comes on the heels of Allen's MVP-winning 2024 season. Allen threw for 3,731 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions and rushed for 531 yards with 12 TDs to lead the Bills to a 13-4 season.

The new contract also represents the biggest move of the Bills' offseason so far. Khalil Shakir, Allen's last remaining wideout from 2023; and defenders Greg Rousseau and Terrel Bernard have each secured a four-year extension.

Also on Sunday, pass-rushing linebacker Von Miller was released after three seasons. He joins punter Sam Martin, who has been provisionally replaced by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Jake Camarda, in becoming a free agent.

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Understanding the magnitude of Josh Allen's Bills extension

When he was starting his career in 2018, Josh Allen initially agreed to just a four-year, $21-million contract. And as a first-round draft pick, he was entitled to a fifth-year option that was invoked in 2021; he also agreed to a six-year, $258-million extension. The annual average of $43 million was, at the time, reasonable for someone of his caliber.

But in 2022, something happened that would change the perception of that amount. During the early days of that offseason, Aaron Rodgers agreed to the first-ever $50-million-a-year contract in NFL history. And since then, there has been a so-called "arms race" amongst teams to see who can pay their quarterbacks the highest amount of money.

In 2023 alone, four players reset the quarterback market with progressively bigger contracts. Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Lamar Jackson both got massive deals with over $50 million annually.

The Los Angeles Chargers then surpassed that with a $262.5-million deal for Justin Herbert - a $52.5-million average. Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals then outdid it with $275 million - $55 million annually.

But the biggest was yet to come. In the 2024 offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence tied Burrow with his own $275-million extension. Then, just as play was about to begin, the Dallas Cowboys gave Dak Prescott $240 million over four years - the first $60-million per year contract in the league.

As a result, a good number of fans have come to see Allen's previous annual average as "underpaid". But his new extension finally puts him at the level of his contemporaries, at least financially.