James Cook enjoyed another stellar season this year for the Buffalo Bills, planting his flag as one of the better all-purpose backs in the National Football League. His exceptional play helped carry the Bills to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. In the offseason, Cook has been in a contract battle with the Bills. And on Wednesday evening, he confirmed that he’s serious about the matter, putting his home up for sale.
According to the listing in Orchard Park, New York, Cook has put his three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on the market. The listing price is currently $710,000. The Bills have signed several of their rising stars to contract extensions over the past several weeks, including wide receiver Khalil Shakir, defensive end Greg Rousseau, linebacker Terrel Bernard, and corner Christian Benford. All of those players were going to enter the final year of their contract this fall.
One player who is noticeably absent from that list is James Cook, who is set to make $5.3 million this year, the last year of his rookie deal. He tied for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns in the 2024 campaign, making his second straight Pro Bowl.
Following the season, he made it pretty crystal clear on social media he wanted a contract extension worth $15 million per year. That number would rank him third in the average value among all running backs in the National Football League. It would also exceed the current price for the franchise tag, which is set at $13.64 million.
In February, Bills General Manager Brandon Beane described Cook as “a beautiful man” at the NFL Scouting Combine, but noted that he would “prefer we don’t take the business outside,” when discussing Cook’s social media posts.
Along with Cook’s Orchard Park residence going up for sale, he also put photos of game balls and framed jerseys in the listing. Records show that the house was bought in 2022 by a Minnesota LLC that is owned by his brother, former Vikings star Dalvin Cook. Brandon Beane also let it be known that the door is definitely still open for a potential deal to be done before James Cook gets to free agency. “Just because we don’t have James signed today doesn’t mean next year we still can’t get a deal done before he gets to free agency,” Beane said Sunday via an article from Nick Veronica of WIVB4.com.
James Cook is certainly one of the better all-purpose backs in the league, racking up two straight seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards the past two years. As a receiver, he’s hauled in 97 catches for 883 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in three years. His best receiving yardage total came in 2023, hauling in 445 receiving yards.
It’ll be interesting if the Bills can keep him in the fold for the future. He’s been a massive piece of their offensive attack the past few years.
