Josh Allen no longer in Top 5 salaries for QBs after Jalen Hurt’s contract
Prior to the 2021 season, the Buffalo Bills took a little bit of a risk when they agreed to a contract extension with Josh Allen. At the time, Allen was coming off his first season as a top tier quarterback and it remained to be seen if he would be able to continue that trend.
That gamble has certainly paid off as Josh Allen has continued to play like one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the six-year deal worth $258 million has looked better each season. Even though this season is the first year of that extension, Josh Allen is no longer in the Top 5 among quarterbacks when looking at new money average per year, according to Field Yates.
The latest contract was for Jalen Hurts as he agreed to a five-year deal worth $255 million which makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history, according to multiple reports similar to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero’s tweet.
Josh Allen could almost fall outside the Top 10 before the 2023 season
With an average of $43 million per year, Josh Allen currently ranks sixth among quarterbacks and is $3 million ahead of Daniel Jones, Matthew Stafford, and Dak Prescott. However, he could fall even more before the upcoming season with a number of quarterbacks in line for a similar extension to Jalen Hurts.
There are currently three quarterbacks that could sign new deals this offseason with the most obvious being Lamar Jackson. The Baltimore Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, which gives him the option to negotiate with other teams, however there hasn’t been much movement on that front.
This essentially means Jackson either returns to Baltimore on a one-year fully guaranteed contract or works out a long-term deal. The news of Jalen Hurt’s contract could give the two sides guidelines to work out such a deal.
In addition to Jackson, the other two quarterbacks who could agree to new deals is Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow and Los Angeles Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert.
Regardless of whether or not Josh Allen falls out of the Top 10, the fact remains that the Buffalo Bills have a bargain with the contract they have with Josh Allen. The decision to reach a new deal when they did certainly should help them move forward with managing the salary cap as quarterback salaries continue to rise.