The contract details are in for the Dee Alford free agent signing by the Buffalo Bills. Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic sent out the details on social media Monday night. The signing can’t be official until Wednesday afternoon.
The base of the deal is three years, $15.75 million plus incentives. Of that total, more than half is fully guaranteed to the tune of $7.875 million, but that is relatively team-friendly. His 2026 compensation of $4.5 million signing bonus and $1.31 million base salary is fully guaranteed and $2.065
million of his 2027 base salary. That 2027 guarantee would be offset if he is released and signed by another team, so it’s essentially a “one year and we will see” type of contract.
The rest of his 2027 salary will fully guarantee at the start of the 2027 league year.
He has a $100,000 workout bonus each year, which is pretty standard for a Brandon Beane free agent contract.
We do not know the specifics on the incentives outside of a $20,000 per-game active roster bonus. Alford played 16 games in 2025, so $320,000 will count against the Bills cap immediately from that bonus as Likely To Be Earned. He can earn up to $1.75 million each season for those incentives, but it could be anything from playing time, interceptions, Pro Bowls, and include team performance like playoff berths or Super Bowl wins.
Alford is essentially the Taron Johnson replacement on the roster, and Johnson was set to make more than $8.5 million in 2026.
Dee Alford yearly contract breakdown
Here are the yearly breakouts for Dee Alford’s contract.
2026
Pro-rated signing bonus: $1.5 million
Workout bonus: $100,000
Per-game roster bonus: $20,000/game up to $340,000 ($320,000 LTBE)
Base salary: $1.31 million (fully guaranteed)
Incentives: Up to $1.75 million
Cash: $6.25 million (fully guaranteed)
Cap hit: $3.23 million
2027
Pro-rated signing bonus: $1.5 million
Workout bonus: $100,000
Per-game roster bonus: $20,000/game up to $340,000
Base salary: $4.31 million ($2 million fully guaranteed, rest guarantees March 2027)
Incentives: Up to $1.75 million
Cash: $4.75 million
Cap hit: $6.25 million
Dead cap if cut: $5.065 million
Cap savings: $1.185 plus up to $2 million offset
2028
Pro-rated signing bonus: $1.5 million
Workout bonus: $100,000
Per-game roster bonus: $20,000/game up to $340,000
Base salary: $4.31 million
Incentives: Up to $1.75 million
Cash: $4.75 million
Cap hit: $6.25 million
Dead cap if cut: $1.5 million
Cap savings: $4.75 million
