Andrew Luck signed a six year, $140 million dollar extension with the Indianapolis Colts this afternoon. $87 million of it is guaranteed.  It is the richest deal in NFL history. 

It’s no surprise that Luck is being paid like a franchise quarterback. He’s still considered one despite his struggles last season. Now he has to justify the commitment by the Colts by getting his career back on track. 

There is no question that Luck has regressed the last two years. He has to get back to the level he was playing at his first two years in the league. If he does, the Colts will contend again. If he continues to struggle, the Colts will regret giving him this extension.

Luck has the physical tools to be a franchise quarterback but there is something missing. He’s certainly smart enough to play the position but I don’t know if he has that “IT” factor that it takes to lead a team to a Super Bowl. He looked like that quarterback his first two years in the league but he’s not that quarterback right now.

It’ll be interesting to see if Luck can get back to the level he played at in 2012 and 2013. I have my doubts but it wouldn’t surprise me if he does. He is going to have to in order to justify his new contract. If I were a Colts fan, I would be cautiously excited. While it’s great that Luck is signed long term, his contract will be a burden on the Colts salary cap. They won’t be able to put a lot of veteran pieces around him. If Luck doesn’t have the pieces to work with, he might not turn his career around.