For high-profile players like Trevon Diggs, who signed a five-year, $97 million contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys in July 2023, losing $500,000 might not seem like that big of a deal.
But that's still half a million dollars we're talking about, and the two-time Pro Bowler, who has opted to rehab his surgically repaired left knee in Miami, which obviously isn't anywhere near team headquarters, is in danger of seeing that amount deducted from his 2025 base salary for not participating in the Cowboys' offseason program.
Allow us to explain.
Trevon Diggs could lose $500,000 and may be subject to more fines if he doesn't show up for Cowboys minicamp
For quite some time now, Jerry Jones has included base salary de-escalator clauses in the contracts of his highest-paid players as it pertains to offseason workouts, even voluntary ones, which is why the likes of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Osa Odighizuwa, and, of course, Trevon Diggs, all have them attached to their current deals.
Effectively, they're put in to ensure that the Cowboys' biggest stars will show up and set a good example.
Per ESPN, the clause specifically states that a player, even one rehabbing from surgery, "must rehabilitate such injury as required by and under the supervision of the Club's Head Trainer until such time as full participation in the 'Off-Season Program' can be achieved. Supervised rehabilitation by Player with Club's Head Trainer will count towards Player's 84.375% completion requirement."
Simply put, if Diggs fails to participate in at least 84.375% of the Cowboys' offseason program, he'll lose $500,000 of his 2025 base salary, which is currently set to be $9 million.
And seeing as how the 26-year-old missed the first two phases of the program and skipped out on OTAs, he's getting close to losing that cash. If that turns out to be the case, Diggs is believed to be the first player who would violate the de-escalator clause.
The Cowboys' mandatory minicamp is set for next week, June 10-12, and if Diggs skips that, he could be subject to additional fines.
Dallas executive vice president Stephen Jones recently said Diggs is "being diligent" in his rehab and expects his cornerback to be at minicamp, adding that "we'll get a good look at him next week." However, Jones also expressed his desire for No. 7 to be doing all of this with the organization, not independently.
Diggs, who earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2021 and was a Pro Bowl selection in both 2021 and 2022, is expected to begin training camp on the PUP list, which would automatically keep him out of the Cowboys' first four games of the 2025 campaign. Over the past two years, he's missed 21 of 34 regular-season contests.
