Stefon Diggs faces a major hurdle to sign a new deal

The New England Patriots cut the cord on the Stefon Diggs experiment almost immediately after the end of the season.

The former Buffalo Bills star had 85 receptions on 102 targets for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns, per Football Reference, but wasn't much of a factor in the playoffs.

Now, with the first wave of free agency already in the books, he remains unsigned.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, it has nothing to do with his play or even his issues off the field; it's just a matter of money.

Stefon Diggs will have to take a huge pay cut to get a new deal

"It's not like the guy can't play anymore," Pelissero said on "The Rich Eisen Show." "He is certainly one of the top free agents that's still on the board. You've got a bunch of guys with a '3' in front of their age that are former All-Pro, Pro Bowl-type players. The thing is, at this stage in free agency, you're getting to that point [where] unless you're willing to sign a one-year, $5 million-type deal, there's just not a lot of offers out there."

Last offseason, the Patriots gave him a three-year, $69 million deal. This time, Spotrac projects his market value at two years and $27.6 million, an average annual value of $13.8 million. 

That said, with the Patriots signing Romeo Doubs and little to no buzz surrounding Diggs, it looks like he's going to have to settle for far less money than that projection.