Jim Irsay is an odd NFL owner. As the head man of the Indianapolis Colts he seems to relish in signing his quarterbacks to massive deals. When Andrew Luck’s new contract, the biggest in the history of the NFL, hit the news wire Wednesday, Irsay was one of the first to celebrate.
$140 Million over 6 Years… Biggest Contract in NFL History… Congrats to #12!!!
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) June 29, 2016
On its face the deal is massive, six years for $140 million, and even when you break it down looking at the guaranteed money, Luck is getting the most in league history, $87 million. That’s almost as much as the total value of Russell Wilson’s four-year extension he signed with the Seattle Seahawks ($87.6 million).
When, then, do I say that Luck gave the Colts a break? Because he could have gotten more. The consensus thought was that Luck would get $25 million a year, a new benchmark for the quarterback market. He didn’t quite go there, averaging $24.594 a season. His guaranteed money was also split up. Luck got $47 million at signing and he’ll get $27 million over the third and fourth seasons of the deal.
Andrew Luck right now pic.twitter.com/3Xfbqh7HVQ
— Stanley Earl (@ZSanchez15) June 29, 2016
What does that mean? It means that Luck didn’t hold up the Colts. He got a monster contract, but not one that destroys the franchise along with it. The Colts are used to dealing with massive quarterback deals ever since they drafted Peyton Manning in 1998. This is standard operating procedure for them. With Luck settled and in the fold long term, they know exactly how much cap space they’ll have to work with in the coming years.
Don’t forget, the cap raises every year too. Six years from now this deal won’t even be in the Top 10 of quarterback deals, but the Colts will still have Luck, who by that time could realistically be the best quarterback in the NFL. That’s what’s on the table for Luck and the Colts. It’s why they made no issue about getting this deal done.
In 5 years people will be saying that Andrew Luck's contract was a bargain.
— Steve Gallo (@SteveGalloNFL) June 30, 2016
The Colts struck gold in the NFL draft twice at quarterback and they know it. Luck is the same special kind of player that Peyton Manning was. He’s a guy that strives to get better every single day, works at it and is honest with himself. When asked last week about his injury-riddled 2015 season, he didn’t make any excuses.
“Injuries aside, I was not playing very good football before they happened,” Luck told ESPN. “I’ve got to get better. Toward my last couple games I felt like I was playing much better, trending in the right direction.”
Luck played in only seven games last season after suffering a shoulder injury, cracked ribs and a lacerated kidney. Those are car wreck style injuries, but for Luck the problem was him. That’s the kind of guy you want calling signals for your football team.
$43,241: Minimum amount of money the Colts will pay Andrew Luck PER DAY through December 2021.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 29, 2016
If you were to ask any general manager in the NFL today who they would pick first out of the league if they were building their football team, all 32 of them would pick Luck. They’d take him over Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton and Tom Brady. The upside is that huge and this is a guy that already threw 40 touchdowns in a season (in 2014). He’s not plateaued. There’s still so much better he can be.
Consider his 2014 season where he took the Colts to the AFC Championship game. We know now that it was pretty much single-handed as Luck’s team was a weak one that fell completely apart just a year later. That season Luck threw for 4,761 yards, the aforementioned 40 touchdowns with just 16 interceptions. That was his third year in the league.
“The organization is excited about getting this deal done and getting it done before the 4th of July,” Irsay said. “It’s a big number. It was a deal that was a fair deal for both sides taking into account (of) being cap friendly, being reasonable in the last year in 2021.”
The Colts made the moves this offseason in the draft and free agency to shore up their offensive line and defense, so there’s no reason to believe Luck won’t bounce back to put up those kind of numbers again.
