The initial numbers have emerged regarding the new deal for Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs. And while a full analysis can’t be performed until all details can be digested, the available evidence permits a few observations to be made.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Diggs deal has a five-year, $72 million base value. That’s a new-money average of $14.4 million, putting him at No. 9 on the list of highest-paid receivers.
Based on the $1.9 million Diggs was due to earn in 2018, it’s a six-year, $73.9 million contract, with a $12.31 million average at signing.
Rapoport reports that Diggs will receive $40 million guaranteed, a tidbit that requires more information about how much is fully guaranteed at signing and when injury guarantees convert to full guarantees. Also, the deal reportedly has a maximum value of $81 million; without knowing more/anything about the triggers, it’s impossible to know whether he’ll make the extra money.
Some will say that Diggs, whose crowning moment came when he made a catch and run for the ages as time expired against the Saints in the divisional round of the playoffs, is being overpaid, pointing to the fact that he’s never had a 1,000-yard season, averages five touchdowns per season, and has never played in 16 games. But Diggs has been a very solid performer, significantly overachieving his fifth-round draft status and providing the team’s ever-changing quarterbacks with a reliable option in the passing game.
Besides, as more and more contracts are negotiated over the next six years, and as the salary cap keeps climbing, Diggs quickly will slide out of the top 10 and, eventually, out of the too 20.
So why do the deal now? Diggs swapped $1.9 million for life-changing money. Sure, he could have made more as a free agent or via the franchise tag. He also could have made a lot less, if injury or ineffectiveness had caused his value to crater in his contract year.