Published August 13, 2025 02:27 PM
Running back James Cook has his new deal with the Bills. We have the numbers on the new five-year (not four-year) contract.
Here they are, per a source with knowledge of the terms:
1. Signing bonus: $9 million.
2. 2025 base salary: $1.28 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2026 option bonus: $7.4 million (see below for guarantee details).
4. 2026 workout bonus: $250,000.
5. 2026 base salary: $2.01 million (see below for guarantee details).
6. 2026 per-game roster bonus: $340,000 total.
7. 2027 workout bonus: $250,000.
8. 2027 base salary: $9.13 million, guaranteed for injury at signing; on the fifth day of the 2026league year, $6.22 million becomes fully guaranteed, with the remaining $2.91 million vesting in on the fifth day of the 2027 league year.
9. 2027 per-game roster bonus: $340,000 total.
10. 2028 workout bonus: $250,000.
11. 2028 base salary: $9.681 million, $1.18 million of which is guaranteed for injury.
12. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $340,000 total.
13. 2029 workout bonus: $250,000.
14. 2029 base salary: $10.41 million.
15. 2029 per-game roster bonus: $340,000 total.
For 2026, $5 million is fully guaranteed at signing. Another $4.41 million is guaranteed for injury; it converts to full guarantee in on February 9, 2026.
The contract includes a $1 million escalator for 2028, if any year from 2025 through 2027 he participates in 45 percent of the offensive snaps and the team makes the playoffs.
The contract also includes a $1 million escalator for 2029, if any two years from 2025 through 2028 he participates in 45 percent of the offensive snaps and the team makes the playoffs in those same two seasons.
The new-money average on the four-year extension is $11.5 million per year, with $15.28 million fully guaranteed at signing. By 2026, the full guarantee increases to $25.91 million. The total injury guarantee is $30 million, with $28.82 million fully guranteed by 2027.
From signing, the contract has a value of $10.254 million per year over five years; Cook was due to make $5.271 million in 2025.