Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrated his 29th birthday on May 21, and this year, the occasion came with a ‘surprise’ that wasn’t necessarily a gift.
Allen learned the Bills would be featured during the training camp version of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks,’ which debuts Aug. 5.
‘It was quite a surprise,’ Allen told USA TODAY Sports on July 14. ‘Typically, teams that make the playoffs were never a part of that conversation.’
Allen spoke to USA TODAY through his partnership with sleep-aid brand Natrol.
Rules previously to prevent teams that either made the playoffs in the past two seasons, been on the program in the past 10 years, or had a first-year head coach from being on the all-access program. But the NFL has amended some of the requirements, with other iterations of the show (‘Hard Knocks: Offseason’ and an in-season version of the show) debuting in recent years. Owners voted in 2024 to eliminate the playoff stipulation and decreased the potential gap from 10 years to eight.
‘I probably, initially, didn’t react too great to it,’ Allen said upon receiving the news. ‘But I do think it’s a cool opportunity for people to see some of the great men we have on our team and some of the great women we have in our staff as a whole.
Last offseason, the New York Giants’ time on ‘Hard Knocks: Offseason’ became a flashpoint and yearlong punchline as Saquon Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as owner John Mara told general manager Joe Schoen he’d be ‘sick’ if Barkley signed with the rival. Schoen and Giants head coach Brian Daboll were part of the Bills staff that drafted Allen seventh overall from Wyoming in 2017.
‘So I think it’s a thing we can’t let distract us,’ Allen said. ‘Got to keep the main thing the main thing. But I also think it could be a fun opportunity for guys to show their personality. And people get a better insight for how the Buffalo Bills operate.’