Stefon Diggs Contract Extension Means no More Distractions for Bills
Davante Adams was paid. Tyreek Hill was paid. Stefon Diggs was not. And the Bills Mafia was growing nervous.
When would it be the Bills' top wide receiver's turn, if at all? And would he have to change teams, as Adams and Hill did, for that to happen?
The answer came before many fans woke up on Wednesday with the news, reported first by ESPN's Adam Schefter, that Diggs and the Bills had reached an agreement on a four-year, $104 million contract extension that features $70 million guaranteed.
The deal is timely for both sides because it satisfies Diggs while clearing much-needed salary cap space for the Bills, who would have been on the hook for a cap hit of $17.9 this year before the extension.
They came into Wednesday with just $3.8 million in space, according to the NFLPA.
Throughout what has been perhaps the craziest offseason in NFL history, Bills fans were growing more nervous by the minute that Diggs would grow disgruntled after seeing comparable stars get paid.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane simply never allowed that to happen.
"We've had open dialogue since the season ended," Beane said at the recent NFL Meetings. "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 [former Bills QB] Tyrod [Taylor]. So we've been very open, honest with each other and, you know, I don't talk about negotiations. And so as I said a couple of weeks ago ... contracts get done when they're supposed to get done.
"... 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 and you got to read into it, whatever it is, that's just part of the world around us. But I've got a great relationship with Stef, and he knows if there's ever a concern to call me directly, and I'll do the same."
This agreement is the latest in a series of personnel decisions that clearly reveal the team's objective to win the Super Bowl immediately, before the window shuts.
It doesn't necessarily mean they won't also address the position early ij this month's NFL Draft.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
