"Sometimes it's hard to remember that back in April as the Buffalo Bills prepared for the NFL draft, the franchise seriously considered selecting a quarterback who would someday replace Ryan Fitzpatrick. Quite a bit has happened in the six months since.

Friday, the team held a news conference to celebrate a six-year Fitzpatrick contract which will earn the quarterback $59 million, with $24 million guaranteed and $33 million over the first three seasons of the deal, according to reports. Fitzpatrick's average of $9.8 million a year makes him the 16th highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

In six years Fitzpatrick went from being the 250th player taken in the NFL draft to signing the richest contract in Bills history.

"It's been a long road for me to get here starting with when I was drafted late in the seventh round and fighting to be the three there for a couple of years," said Fitzpatrick who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2005. "Then going to Cincinnati and working my way up to the two and being afforded an opportunity to play here. ... I think we've got this thing headed in the right direction so to be a part of that and to be able to continue to be a part of it for years to come I'm really excited about that."

Kansas City's Matt Cassel ranks 17th in quarterback pay at $9.67 million a year. New Orleans' Drew Brees is 15th at $10 million, but he's expected to sign an extension at some point this year that will likely place him in the top five. Arizona's Kevin Kolb is No. 10, playing under a free-agent contract worth an average of $12.4 million. After Kolb, it's Detroit's Matthew Stafford, playing under a rookie deal worth $12 million a year followed by Dallas' Tony Romo, playing under an older deal (signed in 2008) worth $11.25 million a year."