NFL Star Is Still Driving His Used Subaru After Signing $60M Contract

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir just signed a big contract extension: four years, worth a total of $60.2 million, with $32 million guaranteed. That comes out to just over $15 million on average per year. If I got a contract extension of that caliber, I’d skip the press conference and head straight to a Porsche dealer. Not Shakir, though—he still drives a 2021 Subaru, and he doesn’t seem in too much of a rush to replace it.

“I’m gonna put myself on blast here a little bit, but I drive a Subaru,” the smiley Shakir said at the press conference announcing his extension. “The guys always make fun of me for what I drive.”

Shakir hasn’t said which model it is—just that it’s painted white and has tinted windows—but either way, it’s probably sticking around for a while. Is he going to get something expensive now that he’s making more in one season than most people dream of in a lifetime? “I don’t really splurge much; that’s not really what I like to do. But, yeah, I’ll probably go get a new car, but it’s not going to be anything crazy.”

Even if he does get something new, he doesn’t want to get rid of his Subie. Shakir was asked if he’d part with his old car, as it seems to fit his blue-collar persona.

“I actually don’t think I want to get rid of it. Maybe just drive something else in here every now and then just so [teammate Curtis Samuel] sees and he doesn’t make any more jokes.” Shakir’s new-ish Subaru might not be as flashy as the sea of supercars and luxury SUVs in the Bills parking lot, but he loves it all the same.

“The guy is a true lunch-pail Buffalonian,” said Bills General Manager Brandon Beane. “I mean, I know he’s not from Buffalo but he doesn’t say anything, he just shows up every day. He’s Mr. Dependable, and when the ball comes his way, he usually comes down with it.”

Shakir is far from the only NFL player to have a relatively ordinary ride. Many NFL players own full-size pickup trucks since they’re the only vehicles capable of housing such big guys. NFL running back Alfred Morris famously drove a 1991 Mazda 626, his car from college that he only paid $2 for and that Mazda restored for him. Wide receiver Darius Slayton drives a Dodge Challenger Hellcat because he’s a Mopar enthusiast. But they aren’t alone.

It might feel wrong to say that NFL players are among the lesser-paid professional athletes in America, given that we’re talking about someone due to make a minimum of $32 million over the next four years. However, unlike the NBA or MLB, the NFL has an annual salary cap, limiting how much teams can pay their entire roster every year. So, only the stars get mega contracts. And lower-round draft picks like Shakir (a fifth-round pick in 2022) make less than $1 million per year on their initial deal. That’s still a ton of money for you and me, but if those players are smart, they know not to spend too much during their first contracts, as there’s no guarantee they’ll ever get a second one.

Shakir’s extension is well deserved, as he quickly became one of star quarterback Josh Allen’s favorite targets. He’d probably be forgiven for rushing out to buy a Lamborghini tomorrow. But we reckon the Subaru-driving Bills fans in Buffalo would much rather enjoy the thought that they daily the same cars as one of their favorite players.

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