Will the Colts Sign Any Early Contract Extensions?

For the majority of the last 25 years, the Indianapolis Colts' philosophy on team building has been to draft, develop, and retain their own players. They prefer to be a homegrown team with sustainability rather than buying short-term windows of team success.

This philosophy has definitely resulted in some peaks and valleys, but it's a smart concept when done correctly. As a result, it's not uncommon for the Colts to identify players who are coming up to the end of their contracts and extend them before those deals expire.

In the last five years alone, the Colts have extended the contracts of Quenton Nelson, DeForest Buckner, Jonathan Taylor, Shaquille Leonard, Zaire Franklin, Braden Smith, Nyheim Miller-Hines, and Mo Alie-Cox before they hit free agency.

While the Colts are in a transitional phase where very few players should be considered "safe" from the trade or chopping blocks, they do have some young players coming up on the final years of their contracts in 2025 who make a good argument for a contract extension. Below are four featured players along with how old they will be around the start of the 2025 season.

Safety Nick Cross (24 in 2025)

The Colts drafted Cross as the youngest player in the NFL at the time, and it took him some time to grow into the player that he is today. He enjoyed a breakout season in 2024 and his first as a full-time starter. Cross started four games in his first two years combined but then started all 17 at strong safety last season. That resulted in 146 tackles (6 for loss), 1.0 sack, 1 forced fumble, 3 interceptions, and 5 pass breakups. He finished ninth in NFL in tackles and second among all defensive backs. Spotrac.com calculates Cross could be worth $11.3 million per year (four years, $45.1M total) on the open market. Considering the Colts remained patient with Cross during his development and vehemently defended him throughout, it'd be wise to reap the rewards of that trust.

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Kwity Paye (26 in 2025)

Paye was an athletic, high-potential player when the Colts drafted him in the first round of 2021. However, despite not necesarily living up to the billing of a first-rounder, he's been a good player for the Colts. According to Pro Football Focus, Paye ranked 13th among all NFL defensive ends against the run in 2023 and ninth in 2022. He also increased his sacks in each of his first three seasons and was on pace to set new career highs in sacks and tackles for loss in 2024, but he missed two games. With 26.5 sacks and 31 tackles for loss in four years, that's worth having on a reasonable deal but probably not enough to re-sign early. Spotrac calculates Paye could be worth $14.8 million per year (four years, $59.4M) on the market.

Alec Pierce (25 in 2025)

Pierce had a decent rookie year in 2022, catching 41 balls for 593 yards (14.5 avg.) and two touchdowns, but had a step down in 2023 with a quarterback in Gardner Minshew who almost seemed to refuse to throw the ball downfield. Pierce entered 2024 in a make-or-break situation after the Colts drafted AD Mitchell in the second round. However, Pierce rebounded with a career year, catching 37 passes for 824 yards, leading the league in yards per catch (22.3), and a team-high seven receiving touchdowns. While Pierce is somewhat handicapped by what his quarterback is willing to do, he has proven to be elite downfield, and he has also proven to be a very clutch player. Out of 11 career touchdowns, six of them have come in the fourth quarter, including three in the final 20 seconds of games. Spotrac has a somewhat odd evaluation of Pierce's worth considering what wide receiver are being paid nowadays, calculating that he might get only $4.6 million per year (two years, $9.2M) on the market.

Writing something right now and went into a bit of a wormhole on #Colts WR Alec Pierce.

Out of 11 career touchdowns:

6 (54.5%) in 4th quarter
5 (45.5%) in final 3:00 of game
4 (36.4%) in final 2:00 of game
3 (27.3%) in final 0:20 of game

Just a crazy clutch player.
— Jake Arthur (@JakeArthurNFL) February 22, 2025

Bernhard Raimann (28 in 2025)

Raimann is likely the Colts' most under-the-radar star player. He's gotten better in each of his three seasons, according to PFF, achieving grades of 73.3 (25th offensive tackle in NFL), 82.7 (fifth in NFL), and then 85.1 (eighth in NFL) in 2024. That means that Raimann ranked as a top-25 NFL offensive tackle as an inexperienced rookie and then a top-10 tackle in his first two seasons as a starter. He's started 40-of-45 career games, but has missed six games, which is mildly concerning, but he's been so good that it's not of much consideration. Spotrac calculates Raimann could be worth $20.6 million per year (three years, $61.9M) on the market.

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