Trevon Diggs' contract details show the Cowboys got a steal
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys waited until the last minute, but they deserve tremendous credit for signing Trevon Diggs to a contract extension.
The deal got over the line Tuesday afternoon, a little less than 24 hours before the Cowboys' first training camp practice.
It stands to reason that negotiations would have continued into camp, but history has shown that certain players prefer to table the business side of things so as to not serve as a distraction from the team during regular season prep.
Luckily, the Cowboys don't have to worry about that. Diggs agreed to a five-year, $97 million extension worth up to $100 million with incentives. On paper, that might seem like a monstrous contract.
Though bulky and lucrative, the finer details of the deal prove once again that Dallas are elite negotiators.
Trevon Diggs' contract details with the Cowboys:
For starters, Diggs will bank $19.4 million per year. That's good for the fifth-most among cornerbacks, which is patently absurd given given Diggs' talent. Markets for premium positions have adopted a next-man-up mentality, so many landed on $20 million as the baseline salary for Diggs' second contract.
The fact Dallas got it under $20 million is a steal, especially when you consider two other elite cornerbacks -- Denzel Ward and Jaire Alexander -- signed for $20.1 million and $21 million annually within the last year.
Not only is Diggs' salary less than Ward and Alexander's, but it dips below Marshon Lattimore's $19.52 million and Marlon Humphrey's $19.5 million.
But consider this, Cowboys Nation.
Diggs will play 2023 on his rookie deal, which has a $4.3 million salary. If you bake that into the extension, he'll be under contract for $16.9 million per year over the next six years. That would make him the ninth-highest-paid CB.
That's going to age tremendously given young studs like Pat Surtain, Sauce Gardner, Jayce Horn and A.J. Terrell will all sign in the near future.
Additionally, Diggs' $21.25 million signing bonus and $42.3 million in guaranteed money rank sixth at the position. If it's fully guaranteed, he'd climb up to fourth, but the specific verbiage of the figure hasn't been disclosed.
What more needs to be said? Whether with the Cowboys or another team, a large contingent of insiders expected Diggs to become the NFL's wealthiest corner. The fact Dallas got it done before the regular season helped them on the negotiation front, but they still hit a home run with the finer details.
Kind of like how they did with Donovan Wilson and Leighton Vander Esch earlier this offseason.