Bills reward Allen with new contract after NFL MVP season. Deal is worth $330M, AP source says

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — NFL MVP Josh Allen was rewarded Sunday with a contract extension worth $330 million, including an NFL record $250 million of it guaranteed, which makes him among the league's highest-paid players. The Buffalo Bills announced the agreement, while two people with knowledge of the deal revealed the contract's value to The Associated Press. The people spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the Bills did not release that figure, which was first reported by ESPN.com. The new deal adds two years to Allen's contract and locks the 28-year-old in through the 2030 season. Cleveland quarterback DeShaun Watson's five-year contract signed in 2022 set the previous record in featuring $230 million in guarantees, per Spotrac.com. The total value of Allen's new contract ranks second behind Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, who signed a 10-year, $450 million in 2020. Meanwhile, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott tops the NFL list in averaging $60 million per season after signing a four-year, $240 million contract extension last summer. Allen's new contract follows his seventh NFL season in which he became the Bills third player to earn NFL MVP, and first since running back Thurman Thomas did so in 1991. The new deal eclipses Allen's previous contract, a six-year $258 million deal he signed with Buffalo in August 2021. Allen has established himself as one of the league's elite quarterbacks and rewritten nearly every franchise single-season passing and scoring record at his position. In doing so, he's overcome the many questions and criticisms he faced for being considered a raw and inaccurate player when Buffalo selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2018 draft out of Wyoming. Just as important, Allen has solidified what had been an unsettled position in Buffalo since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season. The Bills under Allen have won five consecutive AFC East titles and are on a six-year playoff run. Allen's MVP honor came during a season in which he essentially did more with what was considered less receiving talent around him. Adopting an "Everybody Eats" motto, Buffalo ran away with the AFC East by clinching the division with five games still left in a 13-win season and after the team traded top receiving option Stefon Diggs to Houston and lost No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis in free agency. Though Allen failed to top 4,000 yards for the first time since 2019, the quarterback enjoyed his most efficient season with a career-low six interceptions, a year after throwing a career-worst 18. Allen finished with 28 touchdowns passing, scored another 12 rushing and was credited with a touchdown receiving after completing a pass to Amari Cooper, who then lateralled the ball back to the quarterback. The only thing missing for Allen is a Super Bowl appearance. The Bills have reached the AFC championship game in 2020 and this past season only to lose both times to Kansas City. The new deal also follows a significant development in Allen's personal life. The quarterback proposed to actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld during the team's bye week in mid-November. Their relationship began in the spring of 2023, when pictures emerged of the two having dinner in New York City. Allen credited Steinfeld for playing a major supporting role in his career development. "She's been a huge part. The morale, the support. When I get home, she's my biggest fan, my biggest supporter. She's just the best," Allen told the AP in December. The new contract is also expected to provide Buffalo much-needed savings under the salary cap entering the league's new business year, which opens Wednesday. The team was projected to be close to the cap limit after releasing veteran edge rusher Von Miller earlier in the day. And the deal follows GM Brandon Beane spending the past weeks locking in the young core of the team by signing fourth-year edge rusher Greg Rousseau and third-year players linebacker Terrel Bernard and receiver Khalil Shakir to four-year contract extensions. A two-time All-Pro, Allen's 76 wins, 262 total touchdowns and 30,595 total yards are the most by any NFL player through their first seven seasons in the league. From a team perspective, Allen holds the top two single-season passing yards records topped by his 4,544 in 2020 and last season he passed Kelly for most total touchdowns with 262. Among the single-season team records he holds are most TD passes (37 in 2020), most completions (646 in 2021), best completion rate (69.2 percent in 2020).