Buffalo Bills running back James Cook went from hinting he wants $15 million per year on a contract extension to being plain about it.
Following his “15 mill year” social media comment last week, Cook joined Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson and reiterated his desire.
“I just feel like we’re deserving of it. Like, why not? We work all of our life to get paid. Feed me the big bucks,” Cook said, via Ryan Talbot of New York Upstate. “I want to go chase the highest of the highest, and I’m going to keep doing it. I’m going to stand on what I stand on. And I don’t want to feel like a cancer at all. Because I don’t like all that attention and all that. That’s not me, honestly. I’m just standing on business and what I deserve. That’s it. What I deserve.”
The $15 million-per-year figure would put him second among running backs behind Christian McCaffrey, so it’s not as if Cook is trying to reset the market. If the Bills agree, Cook would surpass Jonathan Taylor ($14 million), Saquon Barkley ($12.58 million), Alvin Kamara ($12.25 million) and Josh Jacobs ($12 million) among running backs.
“I just want to get what I deserve. That’s all. I just want to get what I ask for,” he said.
Turning 26 before the 2025 season, Cook would need to carry more of a hefty workload than he did in Buffalo last season to justify the salary leap. The Bills tended toward a committee and, at times, lost Cook in the shuffle — i.e., going long stretches between touches in the AFC Championship Game, including the final nine minutes of the loss.
Cook wants to be that type of three-down back worth top-five RB money.
“I have to be able to be on the field every down in key situations,” said Cook, who led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns and posted his second straight 1,000-yard season. “I feel like I can do it. At this point, what else can I do? Man, just keep me on the field, and great things will happen.”
Cook undoubtedly helps elevate the Bills offense. Verbally stating his case for a raise in February is one thing. Whether he’s willing to push the issue with a holdout or hold-in if none comes by training camp is a different question.
