The NFL is a mysterious league, especially when it comes to the salary cap, contracts, and money in general. It is a business, but fans fail to understand the way the market works within the league. Once a player sets the market, it becomes the same as any other business. A market changes daily, just look at Wall Street. On Wednesday, the league saw the Green Bay Packers announce that Jaire Alexander received a contract of $84 million. Once again, the market resets and the players who have yet to be paid will now have the chance to make more money than they could have ever imagined. Enter Trevon Diggs, and begin to understand why the Dallas Cowboys need to pay up for the cornerback.
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The Why
Why would the Cowboys pay top dollar for Diggs? When analyzing the facts, it’s simple. Diggs may have given up big yards in some games; his only knock. While that may seem like a big knock, after eliminating “garbage time”, Diggs surrendered just 676 yards. On top of that, he only allowed 163 to the opposing team’s No. 1 at the receiver position.
It cannot be forgotten that Diggs also recorded 11 interceptions, which is the biggest argument throughout this case. Paying Diggs becomes a no-brainer when looking at his turnover effect. Not only did he record 11 interceptions, but the Cowboy’s defense recorded over thirty turnovers as a team. The turnover effect is a massive reason to think about paying Diggs. For a team that has lacked turnovers in years past, letting a key player who generates those turnovers hit the open market would prove to be the wrong decision.
The Cowboys have not had a cornerback of Digg’s stature in a very long time. Letting him go would be like hitting the reset button and hoping gold is found in the draft. Then, the wait is on for the development of a new player. Allow Diggs to continue his development, as he is only entering his third season. The ability has been shown, the development continues to trend upwards, and other corners throughout the league continue to get paid top dollar. Diggs deserves the same.
The How
It may seem like a tricky question because of how the Cowboys handle their salary cap. Jerry Jones and his son, Stephen, tend to pay bargain-bin dollars for free agents. However, when it comes to taking care of their own and players they have developed through the draft, they pay up. Diggs will get his money, it is just a matter of what team he will get it from. All of this should be done between the Cowboys and his agent. As he is still on his rookie deal, the contract cannot be negotiated yet. However, once it is able to be negotiated, leave the player out of it. Let the business people get this done the right way. Let Diggs do his thing on and off the field.
Teams will question Diggs’ efficiency, his ability to cover in man, and his consistency. The only thing they cannot question is that he will get paid. The market speaks that to the league. Once a top player gets paid, the next typically gets paid more. Jones and company will make sure to take care of Diggs. As soon as it’s “legal” for the Cowboys to conduct business with Diggs’ agent (after the final game of 2022), expect that conversation to get rolling quickly. They will want to make sure Diggs doesn’t have the chance to reach the open market come time for him to be a free agent. It might be a season away from it being that time, but analyzing it now is something everyone around the league is doing. It’s just the way business works.
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