Josh Allen’s business (Imagn Images)
The Buffalo Bills quarterback officially launched Out of Pocket Studios on September 1, backed by Skydance Sports, part of Paramount Skydance. He is 30 years old, actively playing at an elite level, ranked No. 2 on the NFL’s Top 100 list, and simultaneously building something that could outlast his career on the field.
Out of Pocket Studios already launched its first slate before the NFL season even kicked off.
A Labor Day special called “America’s Tailgate” aired on CBS, featuring music, celebrities, and NFL culture hosted by Nate Burleson alongside Melanie Collins and Whitney Cummings. Days later, “NFL Play Action,” a weekly studio show, debuted on Paramount+ with Kyle Brandt and Peloton star Ally Love taking a wider look at football culture beyond the field. Jason Reed, head of Skydance Sports, said it clearly when they first announced the deal: “His vision, determination, and creativity make him a force off the field as well as on.”
Josh Allen has a new title heading into his ninth NFL season, and it has nothing to do with football. Allen serves as CEO and executive producer on every project the company touches. The move did not arrive with much fanfare, but the scope of what he has already built is hard to ignore. This is not a cameo deal or a sponsor play. It is a functioning media company with real projects already in production. The studio is not a vanity project. His wife, Hailee Steinfeld, is a working actress and pop artist. He has watched that industry from close enough range to understand how it actually functions. That likely matters more than people give him credit for.
That pressure is still very much real heading into 2026 with a new head coach in Joe Brady and a rebuilt roster. For years, the conversation around Allen has been about whether he can win a Super Bowl. But this media venture signals something else, that Allen is thinking past the game in a way that goes beyond endorsements and branded social posts. Athletes who build businesses during their playing careers, rather than after, tend to retain more leverage. They have name recognition, they have active fanbases, and they have time on their side. By the time Allen does eventually walk away from football, Out of Pocket Studios could already be a known entity in entertainment, not a startup he is scrambling to build in retirement. That is the quiet part of this story. The Bills still have Super Bowl ambitions. But Allen has already started building something that does not require a championship to matter.