If you’ve ever wondered exactly what it might cost to pull quarterback Josh Allen away from the Buffalo Bills, this is about as close to an answer as any of us will probably ever get.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell did trade valuations for all 32 NFL teams, with Allen a clear-cut No. 1 on that list with a staggering 7 1st-round picks as the price for obtaining the 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player.
“Let’s start with the most significant and impossible valuation in the league,” Barnwell wrote on July 16. “Allen, who just finished atop Jeremy Fowler’s poll of league executives as the league’s best quarterback, has been a superstar for the Bills over the past six seasons. He has done it without anything resembling an elite receiver, all while adding significant value with his legs on scrambles and designed runs. Allen turned 30 in May, so there are undoubtedly QBs who would potentially be available deeper into the future than the Bills star. Given that he hasn’t missed a start since 2018, though, Allen might offer more stability over the next six to seven years than any other quarterback in football. And of those younger passers, there isn’t really another one who has had the same multiyear run of MVP-level performance that Allen has exhibited over the past half-decade.”
Allen’s value only had 1 rival. Barnwell also projected Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and 2-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes as capable of bringing back a similar number of 1st-round picks.
Josh Allen’s Value to Bills Goes Beyond Football
Since selecting Allen with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, the Bills have watched him become not only the NFL’s singularly dominant player but also the league’s most popular player.
In June, the NFL Players Association announced Allen topped their annual list of jersey sales and merchandise — both in the United States and internationally.
From the NFLPA: “Josh Allen has claimed the No. 1 spot on the NFL Players Association’s Year-End Top 50 Player Sales List, the only verified ranking of officially licensed NFL player merchandise sold at retail. Compiled annually using sales data from more than 85 NFLPA licensees, the Year-End Top 50 Player Sales List captures consumer purchases from March 2025 through February 2026 across online and in-store retail channels and provides the most comprehensive snapshot of consumer demand for NFL players and their officially licensed products. ”
Position Rankings Made Josh Allen New No. 1
Allen recently took the No. 1 spot from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on ESPN’s annual position rankings as voted on by league executives, coaches, and scouts.
“Allen has long pushed to supplant Mahomes, but he had to fight for every vote to finally make that happen,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 13. ” … Once among the game’s most generous at gift-wrapping footballs for defenders, Allen has assuaged the turnover problem, averaging eight interceptions per season since 2024 (down from an average of 15.7 from 2021-23). He fumbled 12 times over the last two years, an improvement from his 20 from the previous two seasons — and a small consideration against the backdrop of 41 rushing touchdowns since 2023.”
One remarkable stat about Allen speaks to how consistently productive he’s been.
He’s the only quarterback with at least 25 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns in 3 consecutive seasons in NFL history — which he’s done over the past 3 seasons.
Bills QB Josh Allen Leads NFL With ‘Impossible’ Trade Valuation