When news broke that the Bills were trading receiver Stefon Diggs to the Texans, one of the first questions became whether, and when, Diggs would want an adjustment to his contract.
He got one, quickly. In the form of a raise for 2024 — and the elimination of 2025, 2026, and 2027.
It’s a great outcome for Diggs, who ends up seeing his compensation for this year increase from $8.5 million to more than $22 million, with the added incentive of being in his first-ever contract year.
In ripping up the final three years of the contract, the Texans didn’t dump gigantic cash and cap commitments. Diggs was due to make $18 million in 2025, $19 million in 2026, and $17.495 million in 2027. They did Diggs a favor, setting the stage for not even having the player under contract when the second-round pick they sent to Buffalo in the 2025 draft is used.
So why do it? The answer is fairly obvious. They want the best possible version of Diggs. They want none of the little things the Bills tolerated until it became one big thing. If the Texans draw a difficult early-season schedule and struggle to win and/or if Diggs ends up not getting as many passes as he wants, the promise of free agency might cause him to resist any of the things that the Bills had to endure.
And so the Texans are willing to risk losing Diggs as a free agent in 2025 if he has a big year and if another team is willing to break the bank for him. They’re also subtly betting that won’t happen, given his history of being traded by two teams and in light of the fact that he turns 31 this season.
