Texans’ WR Stefon Diggs pays Jimmie Ward $100,000 for jersey number

DJ Bien-Aime, ESPNApr 5, 2024, 07:05 PM ET
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Stefon Diggs‘ first order of business with the Houston Texans was to secure his old college number.

On Wednesday, the Texans traded a 2025 second-round pick (via the Minnesota Vikings) to the Buffalo Bills for the All-Pro wide receiver, a 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 189 overall) and a 2025 fifth-round selection.

After the trade, Diggs paid Texans safety Jimmie Ward $100,000 for the No. 1 jersey. Ward will switch back to No. 20, which he wore for the San Francisco 49ers.

The hefty price tag is affordable for Diggs. The Texans raised his previous base salary of $18 million to $22.52 million in guaranteed money for the upcoming 2024 season. They also voided the final three years on his contract (2025, 2026 and 2027).

This will be the first time in Diggs’ nine-year pro career that he will wear No. 1 after rocking No. 14 with the Vikings and Bills.

During Diggs’ time at Maryland, he wore the No. 1 jersey. He considered switching back to the number in 2021 after NFL owners approved a rule that allowed wide receivers to wear single-digit numbers.

On April 5, 2021, Diggs tweeted “After some thought… I can’t change my number. All the people that spent their hard earned money supporting the 14. I gotta keep it.”

KPRC was the first to report the news of the deal with Ward.