With the ink still drying on Josh Allens six-year, $258 million extension, the Buffalo Bills franchise quarterback, general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott all met with the media to discuss the deal.
Beane and McDermott met with the media first to talk about how the deal went down and why the team was comfortable getting Allen extended now. Buffalos quarterback came on after the duo to discuss when he learned the deal was near completion, why he was happy to structure the deal to help Buffalo and more.
Below are some of the highlights from the press conferences.
Momentum on the deal picked up at 10 p.m. on Thursday night
Brandon Beane and Allens reps burnt the midnight oil to get a deal done. According to Beane, he received a phone call from agent Patrick Collins around 10 p.m.
Sometimes you get to a point in the deal that both sides are just stuck and trying to figure that out, said Beane. And again I credit Josh. I think Josh was staying in touch with his representatives… So last night around 10 oclock, you never know when its gonna happen. We got the phone call and we worked on it through the night and we got it done.
The call went well into Thursday morning with Allen getting a call just before 4 a.m.
I was just being kept in the loop really from both sides, Allen told the media. About 3:45 (a.m.) is when I got the call. I woke up and they said the deal was pretty much done and we were good to go. As you can imagine, it was pretty hard to sleep after that.
Getting Allen deal done now had nothing to do with Browns, Ravens signing their QBs to long-term deals
Baker Mayfield, the first overall pick, and Lamar Jackson, the No. 32 overall pick, from the 2018 NFL Draft are both expected to sign extensions with their respective clubs in the near future, but Buffalos GM said their deals had no bearing on the Bills getting a deal done with Allen first.
I didnt really worry about those guys, Beane stated. I mean theres various structures. I knew even last year Josh and I had an off the cuff conversation about doing a deal and him wanting to make sure he could do a deal that took care of him and his family, but that we could still win around here. So I took all that into consideration as we structured this thing. I really wasnt worried about other deals, whether they happened or not. It was about getting the right deal for Josh and the right deal for the Buffalo Bills. And I believe thats what happened.
Allen happy to structure deal to keep Bills competitive
As Brandon Beane mentioned, the structure of the deal was important to the team and Allen. Buffalos quarterback talked about making sure the deal allowed the Bills to keep pieces around him.
I think the way that we structured the deal was obviously a chance for both sides to get a fair deal and feel like they won, said Allen. To be here for eight more years and allow us to kind of move some things around to keep some pieces here, Im not egotistical in how the money is put out or where it needs to be or how much it is. I want to win, whatever it takes for us to win is what Im willing to do. At the end of the day, its still a lot of money–as someone alluded to earlier, its generational wealth and something to be super proud of. The ultimate goal for now is winning, and its not going to matter if we dont win.
Why the Bills were comfortable to give Allen a record deal
Bills head coach Sean McDermott alluded to the fact that Allens contract is a leap of faith for both parties, but stated why the team was confident about extending the quarterback long-term.
I dont know if he proved any more than he already had proved to us the year before, McDermott said when talking about Allens play in 2020. When youre around people every day, its just a continual evolution of a player in this case and a person. So you dont see the real drastic changes, but you see the incremental changes day-to-day. I think thats been fun to watch. And then going forward I think, which is also an important point to note here is its obviously a leap of faith on our part and Joshs part as well. But the trust thats been built between the parties and then also just the belief that hes only going to continue to improve the way hes wired, the family he comes from, the support he has, the way his teammates view him–that was all big in terms of doing it now and feeling good about it for the future as well.
Offensive linemen are set to get nice Christmas presents
Offensive guard Jon Feliciano joked that he couldnt wait for Christmas this year after Allen inked his new deal. The Bills top quarterback has purchased some great gifts for his linemen in the past, but expectations will be raised after his $258 million contract. When asked about the subject, Allen said he would take care of his guys.
My financial advisor is not going to like that, but Im gonna treat my guys good, Allen said with a smile. They deserve it.
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Josh Allen, Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott met with the media on Friday night to discuss the QB’s extension.
