Coming off the worst year in his young NFL career, Andrew Luck is reportedly expected to become the NFL’s richest man, per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report.
Per Cole, Luck’s upcoming contract, which nobody seems to think won’t happen, will average more than the $22.1 per year that Joe Flacco is receiving from the Baltimore Ravens.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay recently said he’d like to have Luck signed by April 1 and that the figure would be “a shocking number.” Obviously his desired time frame didn’t pan out, but Irsay and Luck have remained confident that a deal would be done.
Luck recently implied he’d rather put the entire thing in the rear-view mirror when he said he wanted to “get it done and move forward.” Of course, getting paid more than anyone else in NFL history might make things easier.
All that said, Cole reports that this deal isn’t expected to happen right away. There are still plenty of details yet to be ironed out, which could mean there is a gap between the two sides about how much of this contract would be fully guaranteed.
Despite his dismal 2015 campaign, which was marred by poor play and injuries, Luck is still the best young pure passer in the NFL. His 2014 season is proof of this, as Luck passed for 4,761 yards with 40 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Give him a running game and offensive line and he’ll be unstoppable. General manager Jim Irsay appears to finally have received that memo, as he selected three offensive linemen during the 2016 NFL Draft, including the best center in the draft, Ryan Kelly out of Alabame.
The Colts would be absolutely bonkers to let him hit free agency after the 2016 season, so a deal must be struck to avoid that potential scenario. He’s entering the final year of his rookie deal, which is slated to pay him $16.16 million.