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The Indianapolis Colts decision to move on from Peyton Manning was tough, but it was the right one, and since Andrew Luck was drafted No. 1 overall in 2012, his contract has provided one of the NFL’s best overall values.
Since the NFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement 1st changed the NFL rookie pay scale in 2011, young quarterbacks coming into the league who have success immediately are considered even more valuable commodities than they were before because now they’re getting paid much less. In their 1st few years in the league, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Colin Kapernick, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and debatable quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Nick Foles have all had individual success. The only player in that group who has yet to make the playoffs at least once is Tannehill.
Luck’s contract breaks down into a 4-year deal for $22 million including a $14 million signing bonus and an annual average salary of $5,527,000. All of the $22 million of Luck’s rookie contract is guaranteed. The Colts have a 5th-year team option.
Grantland’s Bill Barnwell went in-depth to analyze the value of all of the league’s 32 quarterbacks, but also broke down their contract situations into different sections. The Colts are in an excellent situation because they can simply choose to exercise that option, and proceed to make Luck the league’s highest-paid (or one of the league;s highest-paid) quarterbacks in 2017. Barnwell shares the same sentiments:
Then, standing by himself, there’s Luck. I’ve already taken the liberty of assuming in that table above that the Colts will exercise Luck’s fifth-year option, leaving them with two years and about $23 million left to go on Luck’s current contract. The Colts won’t have to negotiate a Luck extension until the 2017 offseason, at which point they’ll get to see the lay of the land and how the Wilson and Newton negotiations have played out. It would not be a surprise to see either of them end up with $60 million or more in guarantees.
From the middle of 2012 when Colin Kaepernick replaced Alex Smith as the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, he has made the playoffs twice, compiled a 4-2 record in the playoffs and came within a 4th down of possibly winning Super Bowl XLVII. Before the 2014 season started, Kaepernick received a 6-year, $114 million contract extension. The deal, however, is structured so that Kaepernick’s money is guaranteed yearly and that the 49ers can release Kaepernick should he regress during the course of the contract.
Luck’s contract extension will end up resembling the contract that Aaron Rodgers received, and as Barnwell alluded to, pushing close to $60 million (if not more) in guaranteed money.
