Minnesota Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman initially had no intention of trading star wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

Spielman noted the Vikings had signed Diggs to a team-friendly contract, and acknowledged he was the kind of playmaker with the ability to help any offense thrive.

However, Spielman said the Buffalo Bill's offer of multiple draft picks was too enticing to pass up, while also suggesting another reason for moving Diggs: getting him out of the NFC.

Spielman said it was unlikely the team would have moved Diggs to a division rival or a team within the conference, but said trading Diggs to an AFC squad provided some added incentive to finalize the deal (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk):

As the Vikings evaluated the offer they received from the Bills, which included a first-round pick and three other selections, one factor that helped tip the balance was that they would be getting Diggs out of the NFC.

“I don’t know if we would have traded him to Green Bay or Detroit or Chicago . . . but it does help when you can get him into a different conference than us potentially playing against him,” Spielman said.

This hesitancy to trade a star player to a division rival or another team within the conference is not unlike front office strategies also employed in the MLB and NBA.

The Vikings do not play the Bills this year and, as Florio stated, are not scheduled to be pitted against Buffalo until 2022.

Minnesota received quite a bit of draft capital in exchange for Diggs, but Spielman–knowing how dangerous Diggs can be–also appears to have been motivated by the opportunity to get the star receiver out of the NFC.