James Cook's seemingly lofty contract demands may price him out of Buffalo

Despite coming up short in the AFC Championship Game for yet another year, the Buffalo Bills have a lot to be proud of. They scored the second-most points in the league (most in the AFC - 564) and boasted the ninth-best rushing attack (131.2 yards-per-game).

The face of that run game was running back James Cook. In what became the year of the running back in 2024, Cook helped lead the Bills to the No. 2 seed in the conference but ultimately was stuffed by the Kansas City Chiefs defense in the AFC title game.

Now, in the wake of stars like Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, Cook is looking to ride their coattails to a hefty new pay day. His current contract runs through the end of the 2025-26 season, in which he's owed $5.19 million in base salary. But if you ask him, he's worth a whole lot more than that.

James Cook may be trying to pull a Saquon Barkley and get paid somewhere other than Buffalo

It's unclear if Cook's agent has been in contact with Buffalo on any sort of contract extension talks but it appears as if Cook himself is more than ready to start negotiations. On Wednesday, Cook quoted an X user that claimed the Bills rusher deserves a $15 million deal.

Now, the user didn't specify whether he meant an extension that totaled $15 million or one that paid Cook an average annual value (AAV) of that amount. However, given the fact that Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with Philadelphia this past offseason (over $12.5 million AAV), handing Cook a $15 million-per-year deal seems a little over the top.

Cook only tallied 1,009 rushing yards this season (16th in the league) but he did score 16 times on the ground (tied for first). He also recorded 258 receiving yards and two more TDs through the air. His 2023 campaign saw similar numbers. That's going to be a complicated reputation for Buffalo to slice through when negotiations eventually do ramp up.

Has Cook been a Swiss army knife of sorts for the Buffalo offense? Absolutely. But he's not a Barkley or Henry type of talent to command that kind of cash. If he wants to stay lined up with quarterback Josh Allen in the backfield, he's going to have to bring that number down to a more realistic one like $10 or 11 million-per year.

He could also very well test the open market like Barkley did, but it's more likely than not that he's going to find few suitors (competitive ones, that is) that will pay him anywhere near what he thinks he's worth. His best chance at winning is in Buffalo and he may need to come to a compromise to make that happen.