How long were Bills and Allen negotiating over record contract

SI’s Albert Breer shares more insights into how the Bills and Josh Allen got the record-setting contract done.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen. / Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK

Josh Allen’s new deal with the Buffalo Bills has a simple story behind how the two sides reached it and where it all started.

Allen signed a record-breaking deal with the Bills on Sunday. It is a six-year, $330 million contract, and his $250 million guaranteed money is an NFL record.

Sports Illustrated senior reporter Albert Breer wrote an article on Monday, detailing the deal from start to finish. Breer shared that it all started after the clock hit zero in the AFC championship game to ensure Allen is set up to retire as a Bill potentially.

“The Buffalo Bills and Allen’s camp have been working on the blockbuster six-year, $330 million deal they reached Sunday since the team’s season ended in the AFC title game,” Breer wrote on Monday. “And the focus, rather than being on how the deal would be headlined, was on how it would work for everyone.”

“The relationship between Allen’s camp and the Bills is such that there’s always a running conversation going on, and choosing to dive in and do this now was a result of that conversation. I don’t think there’s anyone on either side who doesn’t envision Allen retiring a Bill. And even if it’s hard to project those things out (see: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers), it’s healthy to operate as if that’ll be the case.”

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17). / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Breer also said that the deal will be revisited after four years if Allen continues to play at a high level. Allen’s new deal will keep him in a Bills uniform through the 2030 season.

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Allen is coming off the MVP season. He passed for 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns and added 531 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Buffalo made the AFC title game before losing to the Chiefs.

The Bills will have Allen until he is 34 years old, and with him in his prime, the next six years could be a memorable one for Buffalo and its fans with their franchise quarterback locked under contract.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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