Tuesday was a big day for Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
He signed a five-year, $72 million contract heading into the fourth season of an NFL career that started as a fifth-round pick in 2015 and has seen him outperform plenty of players who were selected earlier in the process. In addition to the deal giving Diggs job security and locking up another core Vikings player, it also allowed Diggs to fulfill a request his father made shortly before dying of congestive heart failure in 2008.
“It means a lot to me because my dad sat me down a couple months before he passed away,” Diggs said, via the Pioneer Press. “He just told me, ‘Look after your brothers. Look after your mom. Look after your family.’ That meant a lot to me. With this day coming forward, it just came full circle. I have a lot of emotions.”
Diggs’ emotions may have been mixed on such a momentous day, but the other reactions around the Vikings were likely a simpler mix of happiness and excitement about having Diggs in the fold for years to come.