As top wide receivers' salaries in the NFL continue to climb to eye-popping numbers, there continues to be speculation about whether or not Buffalo Bills No. 1 wideout Stefon Diggs will be looking for a new deal soon.
Diggs is under contract with the Bills for two more seasons at an annual average value of $14.4 million, counting the bonus money he received as part of his $72 million contract extension he signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 - two years before being traded to Buffalo.
According to the website Spotrac, that average places Diggs 21st in the NFL at his position. The market was recently reset by the two huge deals signed by Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams, both of whom were traded.
Hill will now average $30 million on his new four-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, while Adams will average $28 million over five years with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Diggs' $14.4 million puts him just behind Robby Anderson of the Carolina Panthers, Courtland Sutton of the Denver Broncos, and Allen Robinson, who just signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Rams.
Whether or not Diggs is looking for a new deal that pays him more in line with the top paid players at his position is unclear, but plenty of fans and media are wondering whether or not to read anything into cryptic tweets he's sent.
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This especially since Bills general manager Brandon Beane spoke to the media back on March 18, just after Adams signed his deal, but before Hill was traded and signed his monstrous contract.
At that time, Beane didn't give much of an indication that the two sides had had any discussions, and made it clear that his receiver is still under contract with the club for multiple seasons and that winning was extremely important to him.
“We’ve got Stefon for two years, we know that," Beane told reporters that Friday afternoon while also discussing the team's offseason moves, including the signing of pass rusher Von Miller. "At the right time, we'll work with his reps and see if there's something to be done that makes sense for him. It's got to be fair. It’s got to make sense for him. Make sense for us. But 'Stef’s' been great. I know he reached out to Von, when he heard, on the recruiting process. I know Josh [Allen] did, as well. He’s a winner. He’s all-in on winning and sure, everybody wants to be paid, but he wants to be on a winning team. I think he’s been the best version of himself, so I don’t see that being an issue.”
However, at the annual NFL Owner's Meetings in Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday, Beane was asked again about Diggs' contract, and this time seemed to open the door to something possibly being talked about, maybe even as early as this offseason.
“We’ve had open dialogue since the season ended," Beane said. "'Stef' and I, we’ve talked a couple times and he’s got a really good agent who I’ve dealt with before, who had Tyrod [Taylor]. So we’ve been very open, honest with each other. I don’t talk about negotiations, and so as I said a couple weeks ago, and I’ve always said - even back to Josh’s contract, or somebody else’s - contracts get done when they’re supposed to get done. If something gets done at some point this offseason, we’d let you know. But beyond that, I really wouldn’t get into it."
When asked if the situation could become more of an issue or even a distraction for the team as this offseason goes on, Beane says he understands the speculation from the outside, but doesn't believe that will be the case.
“It won’t be a storyline with us," he said. "I know the media has to talk about it. It’s the social media world we’re in. Every time a player gets a new deal or somebody tweets something funny, you’ve got to read into it, whatever it is. That’s just part of the world we’re in. But I’ve got a great relationship with 'Stef,' and he knows if there’s ever concern to call me directly, and I’ll do the same."
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