The Indianapolis Colts are set to enter contract negotiations with franchise quarterback Andrew Luck this offseason. Jim Irsay is already saying that the deal will be a shocking contract. One thing is for sure, which is the fact that the Colts have to be careful with Luck's extension.
Openly saying things like Irsay said about a "shocking" dollar amount simply isn't smart business.
Luck struggled throughout the entire 2015 NFL season with injury issues. Even when he was on-the-field, something looked off about him and his numbers were incredibly disappointing. He didn't seem to have made the improvements that the Colts were looking for and there are many areas in which he could still improve.
Throughout the course of the 2015 season, Luck ended up playing in just seven games. He completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 1,881 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Those numbers were not what he was expected to put up, especially on the turnover side of things.
Why should the Colts be careful even though Luck is widely considered to be a superstar quarterback?
Quite simply, the lack of improvement on the turnover front shows a bit of a question mark surrounding Luck's work ethic. He hasn't shown himself to be enough of a studen of the game to fix one of the biggest issues that any quarterback can have. Indianapolis cannot afford to have him continue turning the football over at the rate that he has been if they want to win a Super Bowl with him leading the way.
Hearing the term "shocking" involved in the contract talks is another major concern. Luck is certainly worthy of a bigger contract, but he by no means deserves to be the top paid quarterback in the league. Irsay is already giving Luck the bargaining chips to have a shot at getting to that level.
At 26 years of age, Luck still has plenty of time to get his head on straight and realize his full potential. That being said, he has to get on-the-field, stay on-the-field and improve his game as well.
It will be very intriguing to see what the first reported numbers are in the contract discussions when they are leaked.
There are plenty of other quarterbacks in the NFL better than Luck is right now. Indianapolis needs to make that a chip for themselves rather than giving everything to Luck and letting him work their wallets.
Don't be surprised to see a deal get done this offseason. Luck is going to push very hard for the massive deal that Irsay expects to give him and both sides seem fairly eager to get a deal done.
Expect to see the Colts give Luck one of the richest contracts that any player in the NFL has ever received. It may not end up being a mistake, but there is still a chance that the Colts are going all in a bit too early on the talented, young quarterback.
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