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Josh Allen vs. James Cook Bills Contract Debate Brewing

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Feb 26, 2025 2:58 PM ET

The Buffalo Bills offseason will be interesting to watch, and regarding running back James Cook, he is looking to get paid.

Coming off a superb year that saw Cook rushing for over 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season, plus with 16 regular-season rushing touchdowns along with another three in the postseason, James is a key cog in Joe Brady's unit.

But entering the final year of his rookie contract, it appears that Cook has no intention of playing on the money he's on now - he wants to be one of the highest-paid backs in football.

Whether or not he will get it remains to be seen, but USA Today thinks Josh Allen could also be in line for a pay increase along with Cook.

“Josh Allen is due to have his contract reworked after his MVP campaign, as his $43 million average annual value has been dwarfed by a number of other quarterback deals that have landed in the last three years," USA Today writes.

"Cook, his backfield mate, also appears due for a raise after his second consecutive Pro Bowl season. But with the three-year veteran indicating he's seeking $15 million per year – which would trail only 49ers star Christian McCaffrey in going rates for running backs and be nearly triple his upcoming base salary of $5.14 million – finding mutually agreeable terms might not be easy.”

What we're sure to hear at one point in this saga: It's hard to pay both Allen and Cook top-of-market salaries.

That's not necessarily true ... but we're sure to hear people claim it.

The Bills are so close to a Super Bowl, and losing Cook wouldn't be ideal, but the kind of money he's after might make general manager Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott think twice.

His production over the last two seasons has been solid, and Cook has given the offense a lot of grunt in the ground game, which allows the passing attack to thrive.

With Ty Johnson and Ray Davis the other backs, we aren't sure if the Bills would be comfortable going with that duo for the 2025 season.

Cook wants to be paid like a top back. Let's see if the Bills view him as such.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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