How Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen makes and spends his millions

Unlike many of the NFL's top stars, Allen graduated from high school without a single Division-I scholarship offer and opted to spend a year at a nearby junior college to garner interest from major football programs. Through just 10 games in his lone season at Reedley College, Allen threw for 2,055 yards and 26 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

Still, only two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools — Eastern Michigan and Wyoming — offered him a scholarship, per ESPN. And when Allen traveled to Laramie to visit the Cowboys' home turf, Eastern Michigan made the decision on Allen's behalf by pulling his offer; Wyoming it was.

It took him some time to find success with the Cowboys. Allen broke his collar bone just two games into his career at Wyoming, ending his first season just as it was beginning.

But the following year, Allen started the season as the Cowboys' starter under center and enjoyed a breakout college season. He threw for 3,203 yards and 28 touchdowns with 15 interceptions, per ESPN.

Allen spent one more season at Wyoming, and while his output fell, his efficiency improved considerably. This shift offered the Buffalo Bills the assurance they needed to trade up in the 2018 NFL Draft and nab Allen; they selected the budding star with the seventh overall pick of the draft.

Allen started his NFL career as a backup in Buffalo. But after starting quarterback Nathan Peterman struggled early that season, Allen took over and — aside from injuries — never relinquished the role.

He led the Bills to the playoffs in 2019 — his first full season as a starter — with 3,000+ passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He added 510 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns.

But 2020 was Allen's breakout season in the NFL. He threw for a whopping 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns for a career-best 107.2 passer rating.

The Bills earned their first AFC East division title since 1995, the year before Allen was born, and clinched yet another postseason appearance; they advanced to the AFC Championship game before falling to Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs. That year, Allen finished second in MVP voting behind Aaron Rodgers.

He's since been considered one of the top talents at the most important position in football, earning two Pro Bowl nods in that span. Active NFL players have consistently ranked Allen among the top-15 players in the league in the years since that breakout season, and each time, he's landed behind just three other quarterbacks, per Pro Football Reference.

Allen's success on the field has translated to incredible financial success. After Buffalo selected him with their first-round draft pick, the former Cowboy inked a four-year, $21,443,037 rookie contract with the Bills that was 100% guaranteed at signing, per Spotrac.

In May 2021, Buffalo exercised the fifth-year option on Allen's entry-level deal. Three months later, the superstar signed a six-year, $258 million contract with $150 million guaranteed, per the franchise.

In all, Allen has collected an impressive $113,076,199 from the Bills in his six seasons in Buffalo, per Spotrac. He'll more than double that sum over the next five years, and that's just accounting for what he makes from his team.

Allen's a rising star on and off the field, and his sponsorship portfolio shows it. Beats by Dre, Cash App, Nike, New Era, Gatorade (PepsiCo), Gillette, Frito Lay, and Verizon are among his endorsements, per Sports Business Journal and his social media posts. Allen was also named the cover star for the Madden video game series in 2024.

Forbes estimates that Allen rakes in a collective $4 million annually from his endorsements. In 2022, he was No. 16 on the outlet's list of the world's highest-paid athletes, though he fell out of the rankings the next year.

Allen has used some of the money he's earned to grow his fortune through investments. He joined a number of high-profile athletes when he bought into Aaron Rodgers' investment firm, RX3 Growth Partners, in 2023 per Buffalo News. The firm has holdings in several well-known brands, including CorePower Yoga, Hims, Mavis, Super Coffee, and Therabody, according to the company.

The Bills quarterback has also invested in several companies on his own: hydration packet brand Hydrant, sports media and tech startup TMRW Sports, golf tech company OnCore Golf, and fantasy sports publication FL Newsletter. He's also set an ambitious goal of planting 1,000 acres of pistachios on his family's farm back home in California, which could yield $6.5 million annually, per Profluence Sports.

The California native has invested in at least two properties since going pro. He purchased a home in Orchard Park, New York — located roughly 10 minutes from the Bills' home field at Highmark Stadium by car — shortly after Buffalo drafted him in 2018, per People. The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house boasts just over 5,000 square feet of living space.

More recently, Allen dropped $7.2 million on a beach house in the SoCal town of Dana Point, according to the Orange County Register. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom ranch is located in a gated community and comes with access to a private beach club.

Allen owns several SUVs and trucks, including a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Ford F-150 Raptor, Range Rover Sport, and Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, according to Motor Biscuit.

When the weather in Buffalo cooperates, Allen also has a muscle car to play around with in the form of a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. On special occasions, he might pull out the Aston Martin Vantage — a luxury speedster that can cost anywhere from $150,000 to $300,000 for a new model.

The Bills' leading man has three siblings: older sister Nicala, younger sister Makenna, and younger brother Jason. His father, Joel, is a farmer back in California, while his mother, LaVonne, ran a restaurant in his hometown throughout his upbringing, according to People.

According to social media, the whole family regularly flocks to Buffalo to watch Allen play for the Bills. They were all in attendance to watch him realize his dreams of getting drafted into the NFL, too.

Allen is relatively quiet about his private life, even though he may be in a relationship with famous actor and singer Hailee Steinfeld.

Steinfeld has been spotted supporting Allen at Bills games, and the two were seemingly seen on vacation together in Mexico, per Sports Illustrated. Still, the two have been reluctant to officially confirm their relationship status.

But 2024 may be ushering in a more public era for the couple. While walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes in January, Steinfeld told USA Today she felt "really good" about Buffalo's chances for that night's game. She then commented that the reporter, who brandished a Bills jersey, had the "wrong number, though."

Allen has demonstrated over the course of his career that he's very philanthropic. He's partnered with Buffalo's John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, where he visits with patients. He also bolsters fundraising efforts through TV commercials and in-person appearances.

He donates some of his own money to the cause. And after his grandmother died during the 2020 season, swaths of Bills fans donated $17 — Allen's jersey number — to the hospital in her honor. The fans collectively raised more than $1 million, according to the hospital.

The facility later named a new wing in his grandmother's honor, and together with the hospital, the Allen family launched the Patricia Allen Fund to support their pediatric care unit.

Allen has supported a number of additional causes since going pro, including the Jessie Rees Foundation, which offers support for kids with cancer; the Fresno chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; and ForgiveCo, which helps relieve the debt of financially struggling Americans.

He also helped support his community through the early stages of the pandemic. He donated a combined $35,000 to Kaleida Health's COVID-19 Response Fund and the Western New York COVID-19 Community Response Fund, founded in part by Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula per the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.