On Wednesday, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs told reporters he won’t be jostling for a new contract. He didn’t tell those same reporters that he’s already gotten a new contract.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that, on Tuesday, the Bills “tweaked” Diggs’ contract. It looks to be a move similar to the various Antonio Brown contract revisions after he grew dissatisfied with his 2012 long-term deal, with the acceleration of future payments into current years.
Per Garafolo, Diggs gets $3.3 million more in 2020, $300,000 less next year (but a $7.7 million increase in guarantees), and a reduction in compensation due in 2022 and 2023 of $2.88 million. Presumably, Diggs will get an extension that pays him something closer to market value in 2021 or 2022, making the reductions in future years moot.
It’s hard not to wonder whether the adjustment was influenced by the looming opt-out deadline, and by Diggs’ stated concerns from last month about playing football in a pandemic. With an extra $3.3 million in 2020 pay and an extra $7.7 million in 2021 guarantees, that may have been enough to tip the scales from “possible opt out” to “definite opt in.”