Ultimately, there’s always a question of money. That question was solved early on as the Indianapolis Colts have decided not to force retired quarterback Andrew Luck to pay back $12.8 million of his signing bonus.
Why?
Well, there’s two possible reasons and they’re both smart business from Indy’s standpoint.
It wouldn’t have been wrong from Indianapolis’ standpoint to go after the remaining bonus. That’s standard practice for these kinds of surprise retirements. Barry Sanders had to pay back some of his bonus when he hung up his cleats with the Detroit Lions. A decade later, Calvin Johnson had to do the same thing.
Despite the fact that they could have recouped $24.8 million from their former QB, the Colts already have reached a financial settlement with Andrew Luck in which they will not take back any of the money they are owed, league sources tell ESPN.https://t.co/HPrU7xTowE
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 25, 2019
For Luck, the decision to retire was “pro Colts.” He could have sat on injured reserve all season, collected his cash, and then retired in the offseason. He didn’t. He’s allowed the team to move on early and get a head start on building their future once again.
But I think there’s another reason the Colts didn’t want the bonus back. They still want Luck under contract. They think, and they should, that after sitting out a year with a solid 10-year career ahead of him, the former Pro Bowl quarterback might want to return. A year off, a healed body and mind, it can change a lot.
Physical toll on Andrew Luck through 6 NFL seasons:
» Torn cartilage in 2 ribs
» partially torn abdomen
» a lacerated kidney that left him peeing blood
» at least 1 concussion
» a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder
» and this mysterious calf/ankle issue that led to this— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 25, 2019
Luck is just 29 years old and he’s already rich. He’ll undoubtedly step right into an analyst position on a network or kick some color commenter out of the booth if he wants. My guess is CBS is already on the phone with his agent today.
The Colts are playing the long game here and it’s so smart, I’m not convinced owner Jim Irsay even knows what’s going on. But general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich do. They want the option to either bring Luck back or the option to trade him for what would certainly be a first round pick if they go with another quarterback next season, say Alabama’s Tue Tagovailoa.
