Why Dallas Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs says he cried on way to camp after getting $97M deal
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs had no plans to hold out of training camp.
But he was beside himself with excitement after coming to terms with the Cowboys on a six-year, $97 million extension before the start of camp.
“I’m very appreciative of this opportunity, the organization trusting my abilities, trusting what I do on the field, doing everything I can to help this franchise win a Super Bowl,” Diggs said. “I’m truly thankful. It means a lot to be able to get it done before camp and I can just focus on football.
I just feel like it’s a lot of weight off my shoulders.”
Diggs, a former second-round pick in 2020, has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two years and led the NFL in interceptions with 11 in 2021.
The new deal could actually earn him as much $104.3 million with incentives.
He received a $21.25 million signing bonus with base salaries of of $1.054 million in 2023, $11 million in 2024, $9 million in 2025, $14.5 million in 2026, $19.5 million in 2027 and $20 million in 2028.
He also has active roster bonuses totaling $1 million from 2024-28 and he can make an additional $600,000 per year through escalators.
Diggs said the deal is not the end of the journey, but just the beginning for him as he heads into his fourth NFL season.
”Hell no. I’m just starting. Literally,” said Diggs when asked he was at the top of his game. “I think the Cowboys trust what I bring to the table, what I bring to the field. I trust what I bring to the table, what I bring to the field, so I feel like we’re on the same page.”
Diggs said the contract will not change who is or his motivation to be the best.
“I feel like money isn’t everything,” Diggs said. “At the end of the day, you’ve still got to go out there and perform. They give contracts to guys all the time and guys don’t perform sometimes after. My main goal is to stay consistent and keep building on my career and try to put together a good resume where at the end of the day I’ll go down as one of the best DBs to play the game.”
But he doesn’t deny that the contract talk during the offseason weighed heavily on his mind. And he leaned on his brother, Buffalo Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, for consultation and encouragement.
“There were a lot of emotions going on in the offseason, just crazy emotions,” Diggs said. “I was just with (my brother) every day and he’s like, ‘I know how you feel, just come with me and I’m gonna take care of you.’ And it worked out, so I’m thankful just to have a brother that’s been through this whole process because it is nerve-racking and it’s just, it’s a blessing to have all the weight off your shoulders.”
Diggs even got emotional on the plane heading to training camp because of what the contract means in terms of taking care of his son and his family.
“I was extremely proud. I was crying on my way to Oxnard on the plane,” Digg said. “I was just extremely happy and when I called him (his son Aiden). He was with my mom and he was extremely happy. So it just made me feel good, made me feel like a proud father to be able to take care of my family, take care of my son and take care of my mom. That’s always been the main goal, and just living comfortably, so I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Diggs is most excited about getting to play opposite 12-year veteran Stephon Gilmore, a former NFL defensive player of the year and five-time Pro Bowler who the Cowboys signed added in the offseason to play left cornerback.
The tandem is arguably the best cornerback duo on the Cowboys since Hall of Famer Mel Renfro and Cornell Green manned the outside in the 1960s and early ‘70s.
“Definitely feel like the defense got better,” Diggs said. “So I’m excited. I can’t wait for this season to start. I’m excited to see how teams are going to try to attack us and it should be a good one.”
Gilmore offered congrats and advice immediately after getting word of Diggs’ deal.
“He can take a deep breath now and I just told him to ‘just stay focused, do what he’s been doing, try to build off that and have a great year’,” Gilmore said. “It’s always good to get that extension but you got to play good ball and keep it going.
“They pay you because you’ve been playing good football so just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Make plays on the ball and try to get better each and every year.”
It’s the latest example of the impact Gilmore has already had on Diggs — on and off the field.
He used to pick Gilmore’s brain before he signed with the Cowboys.
“I always asked him questions, asked him for help, sent him tape all the time,” Diggs said. “So just having that relationship with him and now I can have that relationship with him and he’s literally right here and I can watch tape with him. I can see how he works. He very professional. He’s been in the league like 12, 13 years, so everything he does, he’s doing it the right way. So I’m just taking notes and learning and soaking up everything I can from him.”
So what he learned from Gilmore?
“With Stephon, I feel like he’s just very professional,” Diggs said. “Just how he goes about his work. It’s rubbed off on me. He’s waking up at 6 o’clock every day. So now I want to wake up at 6 o’clock every day and go get a workout with him and do little stuff like that. He eats perfect. Like he doesn’t eat foolishness. He seen me eating gummy snacks and he’s like, ‘Why are you eating that?’ So little things like that, him just taking me under his wing and just showing me how to last in the league that long.”
Said Gilmore: “It’s gonna be fun. They gotta throw it somewhere. One of us is going to get tested. We just gotta be ready for wherever they throw it.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2023 at 5:56 PM.
