By

• Ryan Talbot | [email protected]

James Cook is generally a man of few words, but the Buffalo Bills running back recently opened up about his recent contract demands and more in an appearance on the “Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson.”

Buffalo’s top back recently made headlines for making it public that he is looking for $15 million per season on average in his next contract. Cook first pinned a post saying “15 mill year” on his Instagram Live before doubling down on X.

When asked about looking for a big payday in the future, Cook noted that he didn’t want to be a distraction. He simply wants what he deserves.

“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 to Sharpe and Johnson.

“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.”

Cook is coming off a season in which he rushed for 1,009 yards and 16 touchdowns on 207 carries (4.9 yards per carry). He also added 32 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns during his 2024 campaign.

Backs in the league have recently pushed back on the belief that they are replaceable. It came to the point where the top backs in the NFL got on a call with one another after the 2023 season. Cook told Sharpe and Johnson that he was part of the call.

The message?

“We’re valuable. We’re deserving of what we need,” Cook said.

“We in the trenches every time. We bang. When it comes down to the stretch, you gotta run the ball. So it’s like, how are we not valuable? The backend of the season, you have to run the ball when it’s snowing. (Buffalo) get six feet of snow. We gotta run the ball. So how are we not valuable? At the end of the day, it’s point-blank period. You can see what we do and the position that we play. We play a big part of offenses. Period.”

Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Joe Mixon were just a few veterans to leave their respective teams and find great success in 2024. The trio showed that replacing top-tier backs is not as easy as many believed and that backs can perform at high levels in their late 20s and early 30s.

Sharpe mentioned that none of the backs above were able to get the type of money that Christian McCaffrey received from the San Francisco 49ers. When asked if he is looking to come close to McCaffrey’s yearly salary or surpass it, Cook once again stated he’s just looking for what he deserves.

“I just want to get what I deserve. That’s all. I just want to get what I ask for,” he said.

Cook turns 26 in September and feels his best football is in front of him. As for what’s next in the evolution of his game, Cook said it is time for him to be a three-down back.

“I have to be able to be on the field every down in key situations,” Cook told Sharpe and Johnson. “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.”

Buffalo had a strong trio of backs last season in Cook, Ty Johnson and Ray Davis. Johnson is set to hit free agency, so Cook may get more opportunities to stay on the field in 2025.

If he’s able to prove himself as a three-down back, Buffalo or another team could give him the payday that he seeks in 2026.