The Bills have a great opportunity in 2021. Following quarterback Josh Allen’s breakout season a year ago, the QB appears to be poised for a promising future.
However, that’ll come with a cost and because of that, Bleacher Report recently made the point that the Bills have an opportunity in front them next season. B/R named every NFL team’s best contract currently and capitalizing on Allen playing on the deal he has now is a huge chance for the Bills.
The point is a fair one to make. Entering 2021, a big topic of discussion is Allen’s potential extension with the team. He’s signed through the 2022 season, but after this upcoming year, Allen’s cap hit will be much larger going forward. That makes 2021 a big opportunity for the Bills to win while he’s inexpensive.
Here’s that concept in B/R’s words:
Josh Allen is from the same draft class as Lamar Jackson and is coming off an MVP runner-up campaign, so he’s in a similar situation between now and the moment he either signs a new long-term deal or when his fifth-year option kicks in with the Buffalo Bills in 2022.
For now, the 25-year-old star quarterback is just the 31st-highest-paid player at his position in average annual value. He’s slated to make a mere $6.9 million in 2021.
He beats out two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who was also a first-round pick in 2018. He will earn just $4 million in the final year of his rookie deal (excluding fifth-year option) but doesn’t make close to the same impact as the team’s breakout quarterback.
While Allen is the selection over Edmunds for B/R, both players still factor in here. That’s because like Allen, Edmunds had the fifth-year option picked up on his rookie deal.
Allen’s option will cost the Bills $23.016 million while Edmunds’ falls at $12.791M for 2022. That total is based on position. By comparison, that duo will have cap hits of $6.9M and $4.028M, respectively, in 2021.
But in a way, the fifth-year options still both give the Bills a two-year window in terms of B/R’s point. Long-term extensions for both players won’t kick in until 2023, if agreed to, but it’s likely that both could be even higher cap hits than the ones in 2022.
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