THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS have just made their quarterback a very rich man.
Indeed, Andrew Luck will become the highest paid player in NFL history in a deal worth $23.3 million per season.
Team owner Jim Irsay first tweeted the news of Luck’s extension, and several NFL Insiders quickly followed up the news with details of the contract, before Irsay himself confirmed the total.
Luck, the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, was entering the final year of his rookie contract and due to make $16.2 million which would have made him just the 23rd best paid quarterback in the league.
With his new contract coming in $140 million total, it now puts him ahead of previous record holder Joe Flacco ($22.13 million per year), Aaron Rodgers ($22 million per year) and Russell Wilson ($21.9 million per year).
The league’s salary cap increased this off-season, from $143 million to $155.27 million giving the Colts approximately €60 million to play with meaning a mega-deal was always likely.
The move is something of a risk, however, as the 26-year-old is coming off the worst season of his four-year NFL career, completing just 55% of his pass attempts and committing 13 turnovers in 2015.
He also had real injury concerns last season, missing two games early in the year due to a rib injury before sitting out the final seven games when he suffered a lacerated kidney.
On top of that, the former Stanford quarterback has ongoing shoulder injuries.
However, his ceiling is among the highest in the league and he led the NFL in touchdowns in 2014 (with 40) and he has the fourth-most passing yards (14,838) by any quarterback in his first four seasons in NFL history despite missing nine games last season.
Which goes some way to explaining why the Colts also gave him the most guaranteed money in NFL history with his $87 million surpassing the $65 million guaranteed to both Philip Rivers and Eli Manning.
