INDIANAPOLIS – The days of Andrew Luck being a bargain are coming to a close.
Currently the 24th highest paid quarterback in the NFL, Luck enters the final season of his five-year rookie contract with the elephant in the room casting quite the shadow.
Yes, another contract for Luck is coming. Hopefully in 2016.
"If we don't get an agreement, we still have time," Owner Jim Irsay told the IndyStar earlier this month.
"He is going to be signed. There's a reasonably good chance we can come to that agreement this offseason. He will be here, trust me. Andrew and I have talked -- we talked after the end of the season -- and he couldn't be more excited."
Luck, who is never one to elaborate much on his own contract situation, shared a similar sentiment to Irsay back when the Colts season came to a close.
In an ideal world, the Colts would lock up Luck long-term this offseason.
"That'd be great," Luck said.
"If there's an opportunity for it, yeah, absolutely."
If a contract isn't completed this year, there shouldn't be too much worry.
The Colts could franchise tag Luck, giving them more time to formulate a deal that will undeniably be one of the most lucrative in NFL history.
In past years, fellow 2012 draft class quarterbacks (Miami's Ryan Tannehill and Seattle's Russell Wilson) have inked four-year deals hovering right around 20-million per year.
One attribute that Luck had shared with his fellow draft class quarterbacks was sustained durability in their first three NFL seasons.
That ended for Luck in 2015.
Missing nine games, after not sitting out a single snap due to injury in his first three NFL seasons, has his focus heading into the offseason.
"You have to be on the field to help your team," Luck said of his main takeaway from 2015.
"That's probably the biggest lesson I've learned this year, is that you have to be healthy on the field. You get too many reps, too much is invested in you as the quarterback to not be out there, so you've got to be out there."
Luck knows that he must try and avoid the unnecessary hits and see the big picture in how his health directly impacts the functionality of the Colts offense.
For the first time in his NFL career, Luck will enter an offseason with a new position coach and a coordinator he's played under for just one game.
Before any contract becomes a major priority for Luck, the core of the Colts franchise is worried about his own game.
"I think I know what my short comings were this year, and I've got to improve those," Luck said at end of the season.
"I'm sure everybody feels that way in this locker room that, 'Hey, wish we could have done this, this and this,' but that's the nature of sports. What you put on film is who you are. Wins and losses is a good metric of who you are as a team---is the only metric really of who you are as a team. It's good motivation for the offseason and in moving on to next year."
