The Buffalo Bills see Josh Allen as the long-awaited franchise quarterback the team has been searching for since Jim Kelly took his last snap.
The team used a No. 7 overall pick on him in 2018 and just recently signed him to a monumental six-year extension.
Compensation update on Josh Allen new deal that @mortreport reported on: it’s a six-year deal worth $258 million, including $150 million guaranteed, per source. https://t.co/KXcgliKYAI
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 6, 2021
It is easy for fans to think this is just the way of the NFL now.
First-round quarterbacks show up, have some success, and get paid.
However, teams are short on patience and not every first-round signal-caller sticks around, let alone on such a major deal.
The Bills see something special in Allen and decided to lock him up even though he is only entering his fourth season.
That shows a ton of faith on the side of the organization, but this deal also comes with high expectations.
Allen needs to lead the Bills to a Super Bowl title, or it is hard to see this deal as an overwhelming success.
Clear Expectations
The Bills believe they have a quarterback in Allen capable of leading this team to glory.
Otherwise, they would not have paid him this much money.
Ultimately, it means the team is expecting him to win a Super Bowl during this deal.
So what if he does not do that?
It would be hard to see the Bills offering him another record extension six years from now if Allen is in his 30s and has still not gotten the team to the mountaintop.
If they get close, but can’t get it done with him, fans are going to begin asking if all the money was worth it.
That is the tricky thing with these types of contracts.
As an example, let’s say 10 NFL quarterbacks are playing on deals paying $40 million annually.
All 10 cannot win a Super Bowl in any given year and it is likely there will be champions outside of that group as well.
However, teams in contention need to take chances and this is a major one by the Bills.
Next Stage Of Contending
Brandon Beane: “Josh is everything we could ask for and then some.” pic.twitter.com/4uHvsrBmnG
— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) August 6, 2021
The ideal scenario, which the Kansas City Chiefs did, is to win a Super Bowl with a quarterback still on his rookie deal.
That allows the front office to spend heavily elsewhere, before the salary table changes with the quarterback at the top.
The Bills did not accomplish that goal, and have now taken the next step to where the quarterback, Allen, is the highest-paid guy in town.
As previously noted, that is going to be the case all around the league because there are only a few perennial contenders in the league at any given time.
The Bills really did not have any other option.
Having Allen play like an MVP, only to not give him a new deal, would lead to some fans outright revolting.
The key now is to build the rest of the roster around him into a championship team.
NEXT: Bills Were Wise To Lock Up Josh Allen On Massive Extension
