Breaking: Matt Milano Signs Contract Extension With Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills have signed All-Pro LB Matt Milano to a contract extension. The extension covers two more years on his current deal, keeping him under contract through the 2026 NFL season. His initial deal had him under contract for two more seasons, with $13M cap hits in both 2023 and 2024.

#Bills Pro Bowl linebacker Matt Milano, two-year extension with $14 million in cash per year, per league source. Strong move with increased cash for a player who was going to be 31 at end of previous contract. Now, he's under contract through 2026 season

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 12, 2023

The new deal will feature $14M in cash annually, more details to come.

The Salary Cap Crunch

The deal drops his cap hit from roughly $13.3M to an estimated $7.3M for 2023. With free agency quickly approaching, the deal frees up roughly $6M of cap space for the 2023 offseason. That brings the Buffalo Bills to roughly -$10M against the cap, with plenty more moves coming in quickly to give the team room to work.

With expected restructures coming, this move allows them to help secure the longevity of the defense and re-allocate resources to keep the team competitive in the short-term. The Bills don’t have much wiggle room, but it’s a step in the right direction.

More Matt Milano, Please

The salary cap concerns aside, we can get into the real meat of the Matt Milano contract. Milano is an All-Pro, and coming off one of the best seasons of his career. Securing him for the long-term helps the defense keep their edge and with our lone outside linebacker under contract, we can focus on roster-building elsewhere.

In keeping him for the future, we retain a player with 458 combined tackles, and eight interceptions over his first six NFL seasons. We can expect more of the same moving forward.

The biggest concerns of this roster are still in need of solving; This move allows us to put our focus into just that. Sign a Guard or Safety, draft a Receiver, and so on. Know this: we are safe at outside linebacker.

At the conclusion of this contract, Milano will have been a starting linebacker on the roster for a decade.

Featured Image: Buffalo Bills Website