Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir had a breakout season in 2024, catching 76 passes for 821 yards and helping the team reach the playoffs. This earned the former fifth-round pick a coveted second contract worth up to $60.2 million over the next four years, $31.8 million of it guaranteed. He’s also getting a $7 million signing bonus.
Why are we covering this on an automotive site? Well, during the press conference following his contract extension, Shakir revealed what he drives: a 2021 Subaru he bought as a rookie.
Shakir Did Not Reveal Which Subaru Model He Owns
Shakir did not reveal the specific model of Subaru he owns. He only noted that it was a “normal white Subaru with tinted windows.” We’re not ruling out a fun Subaru like a dearly departed WRX STI or a BRZ. But given the “normal” designation and the revelation he gets jokes from teammates, we’re probably looking at a Forester, Outback or Crosstrek. We know it’s a 2021 model. So, that predates any of the off-road-focused Wilderness models.
Shakir did not mention whether he wears an array of flannel shirts, has a predilection for craft beer or owns a dog.
Owning a Subaru Is a Sensible Choice for an NFL Player
Conventional wisdom would tell an NFL player to cast his sights a bit higher than a “normal white Subaru” — probably with a brand-new luxury SUV. Even Shakir’s initial contract as a fifth-round pick earning a bit above the league minimum paid out nearly $1 million per year. But a Subaru is quite a sensible choice if you think about it.
Shakir plays in Buffalo, not Miami. Buffalo averages 92 inches of snow per year. Bills players have had to literally dig their cars out from under multiple feet of snow. There aren’t many more desirable cars in that situation than a “normal white Subaru” with the brand’s vaunted symmetrical all-wheel-drive. Subaru also has some of the most advanced safety tech on the market. And safety is important when your body is your livelihood.
Hanging onto that 2021 model is also defensible. Subaru has been refreshing its crossover lineup. But the more substantial upgrades came in the late 2010s when Subaru moved its vehicles to the new Subaru Global Platform (SGP). The new 2025 Subaru Forester, for instance, brought some refinements. But it was also heavily related to the previous model. Wilderness trim or lease running out aside, there hasn’t been that much reason to jump into a newer model. And it’s worth noting that Subaru has supplanted Toyota and Lexus to be America’s most reliable car brand.
TopSpeed’s Take
Updating the automotive situation would be one of the first purchases for us and most others after signing a life-changing NFL contract. So, we can’t help but applaud his prudent, normcore choice of vehicles. Shakir did note that he may revisit his car situation after the new salary bump. We’ll hope he holds the line with a new Forester hybrid instead of showing up with something more conventional like an achromatic BMW X5.
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