Spencer Brown contract details are in
The Buffalo Bills re-signed offensive tackle Spencer Brown to a contract extension last week, and the details were slow to come out. On Tuesday, they were posted at Over the Cap and later Spotrac, and the average annual compensation places Brown as eighth on the list of top-paid right tackles in the NFL.
For starters, Brown will get a $6.4 million signing bonus in 2024 and his $1 million base salary became fully guaranteed.
A large $16 million option bonus in 2025 is mostly guaranteed, but the Bills have an out in the offseason if they want it. (They’d have to pay $12.4 million of his 2025 compensation to get out of the deal, turning it into a one-year, $19 million contract, which is less than ideal.)
The cash breakdown after that is $15 million in 2026, $15.5 million in 2027, and $17.65 million in 2028. In 2026, that is split into a $7.1 million roster bonus and $7.14 million in salary.
Each new season carries a $250,000 workout bonus and has per-game-active bonuses of $30,000 up to $510,000 each season.
The Bills added two void years in order to spread out the 2025 option bonus over the maximum five years.
Like I said before, the Bills could get out of it after one year if they feel really compelled, which is noteworthy. Usually you see contract extensions like this fully guarantee the first year of the extension, and while there is a substantial portion guaranteed, it’s not the full first new year.
Practically speaking, though, it’s a two-year deal with team options for 2026, 2027, and 2028. The placement of the large roster bonus in 2026 is designed to force the Bills’ hand at the beginning of that offseason. Once they make up their mind in March to pay the roster bonus, he’ll assuredly be locked in for the year. If they don’t want him, they’d have to release him before the league year started and he can find a starting job somewhere else.
It’s a really solid deal for an up-and-comer, and the Bills tried to get ahead of the market on him. If he made it to free agency, he’d likely command $20 million per year or more, not $18 million. So if he plays well, it will be a good deal, but he could also regress from his nice 2023 season and the Bills would look like they overpaid.
Again, he’s eighth in the NFL in terms of average annual salary for right tackles. Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions is far and away the highest at $28 million dollars per season before a jump down to $20.2 million with Lane Johnson and $20 million for Jawaan Taylor. With 13 right tackles making between $15 and $20.2 million, Brown sits in the middle of that group. (My original projection at the start of the offseason said at least $12 million per season, as that would have made him top 10, but the market has shifted up in the meantime.)
Brown is not old, and he will be 31 when he hits free agency if he plays out this deal.
Here are the yearly breakdowns:
2024
Rookie deal signing bonus proration: $219,036
Prorated new signing bonus: $1.28 million
Workout bonus: $39,765
Base salary: $1.055 million (fully guaranteed)
Cap hit: $2.6 million
Total cash: ~$7.5 million
2025
Prorated signing bonus: $1.28 million
Prorated option bonus: $3.2 million
Workout bonus: $250,000
Per-game bonus: $50,000 per game up to $510,000
Base salary: $2.971 million
Cap hit: $8.211 million
Total cash: $19.73 million
Dead cap if cut: $17.52 million (before the league year starts, offset language unknown)
2026
Prorated signing bonus: $1.28 million
Prorated option bonus: $3.2 million
Roster bonus: $7.1 million
Workout bonus: $250,000
Per-game bonus: $50,000 per game up to $510,000
Base salary: $7.14 million
Cap hit: $19.48 million
Total cash: $15 million
Dead cap if cut: $16.64 million
Cap savings if cut: $2.84 million
2027
Prorated signing bonus: $1.28 million
Prorated option bonus: $3.2 million
Workout bonus: $250,000
Per-game bonus: $50,000 per game up to $510,000
Base salary: $14.74 million
Cap hit: $19.98 million
Total cash: $15.5 million
Dead cap if cut: $12.16 million
Cap savings if cut: $7.82 million
2028
Prorated signing bonus: $1.28 million
Prorated option bonus: $3.2 million
Workout bonus: $250,000
Per-game bonus: $50,000 per game up to $510,000
Base salary: $16.89 million
Cap hit: $22.13 million
Total cash: $17.65 million
Dead cap if cut: $7.68 million
Cap savings if cut: $14.45 million
2029
Prorated signing bonus: $3.2 million
Cap hit: $3.2 million