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After indicating that he wanted a new contract that pays him $15 million per year, Buffalo Bills running back James Cook has pulled a modern day classic of a professional athlete chess move: deleting his affiliation with his team from his social media profile.
In an effort to get the Bills attention in their contract negotiations, James Cook has unfollowed the team on Instagram and removed virtually all of his Bills-related content from his page.
Cook, 25 years old, just finished his second season as the Bills starting running back, as he started 16 games and had 207 carries for 1,009 yards and 16 touchdowns (a career high). He also had 32 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
🚨BREAKING: JAMES COOK HAS UNFOLLOWED THE #BILLS ON INSTAGRAM AND REMOVED ALL HIS BUFFALO POSTS.
Cook also changed his profile, which was previously him in a Bills uniform.
He also recently posted that he wants $15 million a year.
TROUBLE IS BREWING… pic.twitter.com/p5s7dfIu4Q
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) February 13, 2025
“The $15 million figure likely isn’t pulled out of thin air. The figure would slot behind only Christian McCaffrey’s $19 million per year among running backs. It would vault Cook over the likes of Jonathan Taylor ($14 million), Saquon Barkley ($12.583 million), Alvin Kamara ($12.25 million), Josh Jacobs ($12 million) and others.” [via NFL]
The Bills drafted Cook, the younger brother of former four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, out of the University of Georgia in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
With the success of the Eagles’ signing of Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley, who was named Offensive Player of the Year en route to helping the Birds win the Super Bowl, the market for running backs is perhaps better than its been in the last decade as the position sees a resurgence in value.