WR Stefon Diggs and Bills reportedly agree to massive contract extension
The Buffalo Bills’ spending spree continued Wednesday morning.
According to ESPN, Buffalo has reached a contract extension with star wide receiver Stefon Diggs. His new contract reportedly includes $70 million guaranteed and extends his current deal by up to four more seasons through 2027.
Diggs, 29, was set to enter the 2022 season with a salary cap hit of just under $18 million and was in line to be a free agent at the end of the 2023 season. The guaranteed money in the deal is more than the $65 million Davante Adams received in his new contract extension and just less than the $72 million Tyreek Hill received in his new contract. Hill's contract included the most guaranteed money to a wide receiver.
Adams and Hill joined new teams in the offseason. The Packers traded Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders for draft picks and the Kansas City Chiefs traded Hill to the Miami Dolphins for picks too. Those deals came because the Packers and Chiefs weren't willing to pay what their star receivers wanted.
The Bills saw things differently with Diggs as they aim to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since losing to the Dallas Cowboys nearly 30 years ago. Buffalo has lost to the Chiefs in each of the past two playoffs and enters the season as the Super Bowl favorite with +650 odds, according to BetMGM.
Diggs has been stellar in his 2 seasons in Buffalo
Diggs had 103 catches for 1,225 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021 and had a league-leading 127 catches for 1,535 yards in his first season in Buffalo in 2021. The Bills traded their 2020 first-round draft pick and other late picks to the Minnesota Vikings for Diggs. That deal was also one of the rare NFL trades that works out for both teams. The Bills got Diggs and the Vikings drafted Justin Jefferson with the first-round pick they received from Buffalo.
In addition to extending Diggs this offseason, Buffalo added Von Miller to improve the team’s edge rush. Miller, 33, agreed to a deal with over $50 million guaranteed in what was effectively a three-year deal with the team.
The Bills’ expenditures also come ahead of the final season where star QB Josh Allen’s deal is a great value for the team. Allen is set to have a cap number of $16.3 million in 2022 before his cap numbers get significantly larger in future years. Allen’s six-year extension with the team kicks in next season and his cap number goes up to nearly $40 million before being scheduled to jump to over $51 million in 2025.
If Buffalo gets a Super Bowl in the next few seasons, all of that money to Allen, Diggs and Miller will be worth every penny.