The Dallas Cowboys inked cornerback Trevon Diggs to a five-year agreement, which sources estimate to be for $97 million and includes a $21.25 million signing bonus, not even two hours after stressing the value of keeping their indigenous players on long-term contracts.
A source claimed that Diggs had a $42.3 million guarantee.
After the 2023 season, Diggs was supposed to become an unrestricted free agent, but he is now contracted through 2028. If he meets the incentives, the deal’s maximum value is $104 million.
Diggs was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and in his first three seasons, he has 17 interceptions. With 11 interceptions in 2021, Diggs tied Everson Walls’ team record and led the NFL. He was the first Cowboys cornerback to receive All-Pro recognition since Deion Sanders in 1999 that year.
Diggs became one of four players to have a pick in that many games to open the season in 2021 after having an interception in each of the first six contests. both last year and in 2020 as a rookie. Diggs recorded three picks.
When asked about his future in May, Diggs responded, “Hopefully something gets straightened out. I cherish Dallas. I’m happy to be here. We shall see.
Diggs is in elite company thanks to his INTs.
Trevon Diggs has a total of 17 interceptions in his professional career, which ties him with J.C. Jackson for the fourth-highest among all players in the first three seasons of the last 30 seasons and is the most in the NFL since his rookie year in 2020.
How Good Is Diggs?
PLAYER INTS
Ed Reed (2002-04) 21
Richard Sherman (2011-13) 20
Marcus Peters (2015-17) 19
Trevon Diggs (2020-22) 17
J.C. Jackson (2018-20) 17
Diggs’ $19.4 million average puts him in a tie with Marshon Lattimore of New Orleans for fifth place among the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL. There are players with higher average salaries, including Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander ($21 million), Cleveland’s Denzel Ward ($20.1 million), Miami’s Jalen Ramsey ($20 million), and Baltimore’s Marlon Humphrey ($19.5 million).
The Cowboys can now move on with negotiations for contracts with right lineman Terence Steele and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, both of whom played in the Pro Bowl.
Lamb is currently under contract with the Cowboys until 2024 after they exercised his $17.99 million fifth-year option, but they would also prefer to bring him back for another long-term agreement this summer. Although Steele is recovering from a serious knee injury and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, the Cowboys still want to secure his services. Micah Parsons will first be qualified for a contract extension in 2024.
Dak Prescott is also under contract with the Cowboys until 2024, and the team has stated its desire to sign him to another multiyear extension, but, according to a source, there have not been extensive talks.
According to NFLPA estimates, the Cowboys had $21.8 million in salary cap space prior to the Diggs contract.
“I actually feel really good about where we are, not only in the intermediate, but also the long term [regarding the cap],” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “I think our contracts are all structured in a good way and we’re very motivated to sign these young guys. That’s certainly why you hope to have success and I think we have had success drafting. In terms of the young players that we’ve got coming up, whether it’s Diggs or Lamb or Micah or Steele or whoever may be coming up and we’re constantly in communication. I feel like we’ve got great rapport with agents. … Certainly all these guys are represented because the money is so big, by top-of-the-line folks, so you just continue to grind and look for windows and opportunities to get these things done.”
Can the Cowboys Win?
In the world of sports betting, a team’s odds are assigned on the basis of how likely they are to win the championship. These odds are formulated by linesmakers and then they are changed depending how the betting public reacts to them.
According to online sportsbooks, the Cowboys are 6th overall favorites to win it all at +1400 (14/1).