Since the Buffalo Bills traded for wide receiver Stefon Diggs in the 2020 off-season, he has been one of the best receivers in the league. He has earned himself All-Pro honors and two consecutive pro-bowls. Heading into the 2022 season, Diggs is only under contract for two more seasons. Combine that with the fact he is underpaid for the caliber of receiver he is, and a contract extension should come from the Bills as soon as possible. Not to mention, an extension would lower his cap hit and help the team this off-season.
Free Up Cap Space
Coming off a season where they fell short of the super bowl, the Buffalo Bills will be looking to get better this off-season. They have needs to address and to do that they need to clear up some cap space. Last off-season the Bills created some cap space by restructuring Diggs’ contract a little bit. Now they are facing the repercussions of it, as Diggs currently has a $17.9 million dollar cap hit. His cap hit is the highest on the team per Spotrac. An extension could lower that cap hit while also keeping their star receiver under contract. Per Bleacher Report, the Bills could add around $9.8 million in cap space this season with an extension. That $9.8 million could go a long way this off-season and help them fill their needs.
Beat the Market
We have seen Buffalo Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane beat the market when it comes to player extensions. He did so with All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White’s contract in the fall of 2020. Beane made White the highest paid corner in the league at the time, but it didn’t last long. Soon after that, the Rams extended fellow cornerback Jalen Ramsey, making him the new highest paid cornerback in the league. Had Beane waited for Ramsey’s deal to get done first, he would have been forced to add a significant amount of more money to White’s deal.
With superstar wide receivers like Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, and Chris Godwin all looking for new deals and extensions. It would be very smart of Beane to beat the market once again with a Digg’s extension. It is rumored that Tyreek Hill is close to signing a 4-year extension paying him $21.25 million a season. If Beane waits till after the Hill extension he might have to pony up more money for Diggs. Diggs’ agent will likely use Hill’s new deal as a leverage tactic. If Beane gets it done now, he can set the market with the new Diggs’ deal. He can pay him what he is worth, but less than receivers like Hill and Godwin, who he is arguably better than.
Diggs’ Deserves It
For the star receiver he is, Stefon Diggs is very much so underpaid. Since the Bills’ acquired him to be their number one receiver in 2020, Diggs has the most targets in the league with 330. Per Stat Muse, since joining the Bills in 2020 Diggs is 3rd in the league with 230 receptions, 4th in the league with 2,760 yards, and 8th in the league with 18 touchdown catches. Diggs has taken off with the Bills, smashing career highs and terrorizing opposing defenses. Simultaneously he’s been a leader, and a key factor in the ascension of Josh Allen to one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Digg’s average salary ranks 20th in the league behind receivers like Robby Anderson, and Jarvis Landry. Diggs is a superstar and one of the biggest reasons the Bills have had much success in the past two seasons. In alignment that it will aid the team cap space wise, Diggs deserves it, and the team should reward their number one receiver.
