When the New England Patriots’ signing of free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs broke, the terms of his deal were reported as three years with a value of up to $69 million. As is the case with most NFL contracts, those first raw numbers did not tell the full story of the pact.

For starters, a look at its details as first reported by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shows that the actual base value of the contract is $63.5 million with the difference made up of incentives. In addition, we can see that the Patriots keep plenty of flexibility: they effectively signed Diggs on a one-year basis with a possible out after each season.

Let’s take a closer look.

WR Stefon Diggs: Contract details

2025 (age 31):
Base salary: $2,900,000
Signing bonus: $4,000,000 (fully guaranteed)
Roster bonus: $3,400,000 ($1.6M LTBE)
Workout bonus: $200,000
Incentives: $4,500,000 (NLTBE)
Salary cap hit: $8,700,000

2026 (age 32):
Base salary: $20,600,000 ($1.7M guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $4,000,000 (fully guaranteed)
Roster bonus: $1,700,000
Workout bonus: $200,000
Incentives: $500,000 (NLTBE)
Salary cap hit: $26,500,00

2027 (age 33):
Base salary: $20,600,000
Signing bonus: $4,000,000 (fully guaranteed)
Roster bonus: $1,700,000
Workout bonus: $200,000
Incentives: $500,000 (NLTBE)
Salary cap hit: $26,500,000

Diggs signed a three-year deal, and due to his fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration might indeed be on the Patriots’ books through 2027. However, the first year of the contract needs to be looked at separately from the rest.

His performance in 2025 and ability to bounce back from a torn ACL suffered in October will determine both his outlook beyond Year 1 and his eventual cash intake. As can be seen, after all, the former All-Pro will be playing on a relatively modest if fully guaranteed $2.9 million salary this fall.

He can add to that number and his $4 million signing bonus proration by becoming a contributor from early on in the season. Not only does he have $200,000 in roster bonuses on the line with each game — totaling $3.4 million, including $1.6 million considered likely to be earned (LTBE) — Diggs also will play for up to $4.5 million in incentives in that season alone: he can earn $2 million each based on receptions and receiving yards, plus an extra $500,000 if he makes the Pro Bowl on first ballot.

If reaching all of those marks, he stands to boost his value against the cap from currently $8.7 million to $15 million. Not all of the earned money would hit the Patriots’ books in 2025, though: the incentives would transfer to 2026, thus potentially pushing his cap impact that season beyond the $30 million mark.

Even without those, however, his current $26.5 million cap number is among the highest for a wide receiver that year and ranked 13th in a league-wide comparison. If Diggs can return to the form he showed during his time in Buffalo and, briefly, in Houston, that looks like sizable but fair compensation.

Of course, the minimal guarantees over the last two seasons of his deal — a combined $8 million in remaining signing bonus prorations plus $1.7 million of the 2026 salary — would allow New England to cut ties relatively easily after 2025. The same is true following the 2026 season, with his dead cap number decreasing each year.

As a consequence, Diggs’ contract can be labeled a “prove it”-type deal. If he can show in 2025 that he is back to his old self and what the Patriots hoped for when they signed him, he will be back with the team and on high-end compensation the next year. If not, the club can let go of him with a relatively modest dead cap charge relative to the total volume of the deal.