Skip to content

Colts make Luck NFL's highest-paid player with 6-year, $140M deal

Andy Lyons / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Indianapolis Colts have signed quarterback Andrew Luck to a record contract extension through the 2021 season, team owner Jim Irsay announced.

Luck will earn $140 million over the six years of the deal, according to Irsay, vaulting him past Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as the highest-paid player in NFL history.

Luck was set to earn about $16 million in the final year of his rookie contract. He will now earn $75 million over the first three years of his new deal, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports.

Perhaps most importantly, Luck's deal includes a market-altering $87 million in guarantees, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The previous high was the $65 million committed to Eli Manning and Philip Rivers.

A former first overall pick, Luck took the Colts to the playoffs as a rookie, where they lost in the wild-card round. As a sophomore, Luck won a playoff game before his season ended in the divisional round. That trend continued in 2014, with Luck's Colts winning two playoff games, but falling to the eventual Super Bowl champions in the AFC Championship.

Luck endured a difficult 2015 season that was cut short by a lacerated kidney, but it certainly wasn't enough to dissuade the Colts from the idea that he is a franchise player and perhaps the next face of the NFL.

Negotiating Luck's extension was a time-consuming process for the Colts, but the team got it done ahead of a self-imposed deadline of July 4.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox