INDIANAPOLIS – Andrew Luck will not come close to seeing his first NFL free agency.
The Colts and Luck made sure of that on Wednesday, when they officially signed a new contract through the 2021 season.
"It's an honor and privilege to be part of the Colts," Luck said on Wednesday, after signing the new six-year deal. "To have this deal done, it's great. It's sort of fun to start a second chapter, a second phase, with the Colts.
"I truly appreciate Mr. Irsay and the Irsay family for the level of commitment and trust they've shown in me. I've loved being a Colt and I'll continue to love being a Colt. It won't change my process or preparation in any way. It's all about winning and we understand that in this building. It's a great winning franchise that knows how to win. We need to get back to the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to get to the Super Bowl."
Contract talks between the Colts and Luck's agent (his uncle, Will Wilson) picked up pace this offseason.
Luck, who turns 27 years old in September, was entering the final year of his rookie contract and could have become a free agent in 2017 (although the Colts could have applied the franchise tag to their quarterback).
Those possible scenarios won't be necessary now with the six-year deal complete.
"I couldn't be happier," Owner/CEO Jim Irsay said on Wednesday afternoon of Luck's new deal. "Yes, it's a great financial commitment, but it's a blessing to be able to have a great franchise quarterback. What (Luck's) accomplished in these first four years is really somewhat unprecedented.
"I don't take for granted the fact that Andrew sacrificed dollars for his teammates and for the organization, for the chance to win. It doesn't surprise me, but it's also something I don't take for granted. This process was quiet, smooth, productive and now we have a six-year deal done. It's a big deal for the franchise that we got this done."
Ever since Luck and the Colts began receiving questions about the second contract for No. 12, both parties made it clear an agreement would get done.
That goal, of having contract talks behind them with Training Camp now less than a month away, has been achieved.
With Luck now inked up for good, the Colts have added another pillar to the core group of their offense.
Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (August 2015), left tackle Anthony Castanzo (September 2015) and tight end Dwayne Allen (March 2016) have all signed multi-year extensions in the last 12 months. The team also drafted center Ryan Kelly in the first-round of this year's NFL Draft.
Luck will be 32 years old, and 10 years into his NFL career, when this new deal expires after the 2021 season.
The decision to have Luck join the names above was a no brainer for the Colts.
Since being taken No. 1 overall back in 2012, Luck has led the Colts to the postseason three different times, winning a trio of postseason contests.
Luck's achievements after four NFL seasons rival that of any other quarterback:
- Named to three consecutive Pro Bowls following the 2012-14 seasons.
- Became the fifth quarterback since 1970 to record 30 victories in the first three seasons of a career. Tied Dan Marino and Matt Ryan (33) for the second-most wins among Super Bowl-era starting quarterbacks in their first three seasons.
- His 12,957 passing yards from 2012-14 are the most of any NFL player in his first three seasons and his 86 touchdown passes set a new franchise record and ranks second only to Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (98) for the most in a player's first three years.
- Threw his 100th career touchdown pass in his 55th career game, which is tied for the fourth fastest quarterback to reach the milestone in NFL history.
- In 2014 set a new franchise record for the most passing yards in a single season (4,761) surpassing Peyton Manning's 2010 record of 4,700 yards.
- Posted 10 300-yard passing games in 2014 which set a single-season franchise record (Manning, nine in 2004).
- Became the first player in NFL history with at least 350 passing yards in five consecutive road contests from Sept. 7 - Nov. 3, 2014.
- Was the first player in NFL history to post consecutive games with at least 370 passing yards, four or more touchdown passes, a completion percentage above 70 percent and one or no interceptions (Sept. 21, 2014 at Jax - Sept. 28, 2014 vs. Ten).
- Holds the NFL record for the most passing yards through a player's first five postseason games (1,703) and became the first player in NFL history to pass for 250-plus yards in each of his first five career playoff games.
- Recorded the most passing yards (4,374), attempts (627) and 300-yard passing games (six) by a rookie in NFL history.
- Became the first quarterback selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft to start a postseason game as a rookie.
