The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and with the salary cap rising every year, signal-callers are earning more than ever. Josh Allen is the latest to get a huge hike in his paycheck.
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Coming off an MVP season in which he led the Buffalo Bills to another AFC Championship Game, the franchise moved quickly to lock him up before the market climbed higher. They handed him a six-year, $330 million extension, averaging $55 million annually.
However, this payout has also created new salary-cap challenges for the team, the same kind that plagued them last season. Despite the cap rising to $279.2 million in 2025 (a $23.8 million increase from 2024), Buffalo currently has only about $1.846 million left in effective cap space as per Over The Cap.
The front office has prioritized keeping its core together, handing out nearly $637 million in extensions to homegrown talent this offseason alone.
Along with Allen’s deal, they locked up Khalil Shakir (4 years, $53M), Christian Benford (4 years, $76M), Gregory Rousseau (4 years, $80M), Terrel Bernard (4 years, $50M), and James Cook (4 years, $48M). While this strategy solidifies the roster for the future, it complicates the present cap scenario. Still, the Bills are in a better place than they were a year ago.
For now, though, flexibility remains limited. The Bills are projected to be about $10 million over the cap in 2026, with only around $30 million in space in 2027 under current contracts.
Bills' 2026 cap space scares me 😂 They have a little over $1.8 million for 2025 pic.twitter.com/iXHsz7nAIw
— Depressed Eagles Fan (@nfl_rocky) August 21, 2025
Allen’s cap hit stands at $41.3 million in 2025, but it will spike to nearly $61 million in 2026. More players will need extensions in the coming years. And, at the moment, Buffalo lacks the wiggle room to maneuver.
They’ve already taken steps to free up money by releasing Von Miller, restructuring Ed Oliver’s deal, and folding Allen’s old contract into his new extension. Still, further restructures are inevitable.
Adjusting contracts for players like Dion Dawkins, Dawson Knox, Matt Milano, DaQuan Jones, A.J. Epenesa, Taron Johnson, and Spencer Brown could provide relief in the tune of $40 million or so. With Oliver’s restructure, Allen’s extension, and a potential Dawkins adjustment, the Bills could push their total available space to $65 million or more.
Until then, the Bills will have little breathing room. Free agency splashes appear unlikely, and the team seems set to lean on extensions and the draft to build around its quarterback.
For a contender in the middle of a Super Bowl window, it’s a delicate balance they are trying to achieve. They want to keep the core intact while navigating one of the tightest cap situations in the league.
