Jim Irsay: "Reasonably good chance" Andrew Luck signed to long-term extension this offseason

Andrew Luck is coming off of his worst season as a pro in 2015, as he struggled on the field and missed nine games.  Despite that, however, make no mistake: he's the Colts' franchise quarterback for the long-term, and if everything goes according to plan this offseason, that will become official soon enough.

Last offseason, Colts owner Jim Irsay stated publicly that his goal was to re-sign Luck to a long-term deal in the 2016 offseason.  Last week, Luck told the media that he'd like to follow Irsay's timetable and get an extension worked out this year.  "Yeah, that would be great," he said.  And then on Friday, Irsay made it clear once again that he hoped to get Luck under contract long-term this offseason, saying that he thinks there's a good chance they can get it done.

"If we don't get an agreement, we still have time," Irsay told the Indianapolis Star's Gregg Doyel.  "And 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."

As Irsay notes, the Colts don't have to come to an agreement this offseason.  Unlike fellow 2012 rookies such as Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, Luck's contract doesn't expire this year.  The Colts picked up his fifth year option that comes with first round picks, meaning that Luck is signed through the 2016 season - which, according to Spotrac, would pay the quarterback $16.155 million next season.  So as Irsay said, the Colts don't have to get it done this offseason, but that's the hope and the plan anyway.

"Honestly, the contract isn't something I stress," Irsay told WTHR's Dave Calabro.  "We know he's gonna get paid a lot of money.  $20 million plus whatever the number is a year.  He knows it, we know it.  He knows he has to leave some over for those teammates of his who are gonna help win the Super Bowl for us.  He knows that.  Quite frankly, the more he gets, the less he has the ability to have the best teammates around him.  He knows that.  We'll get to a fair number."

In four seasons with the Colts, Luck has played in 55 games and has completed 1,124 of 2,106 passes (58.1%) for 14,838 yards (7.05 yards per attempt), 101 touchdowns, and 55 interceptions for a passer rating of 85.0.  Luck has also added 1,101 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing (averaging 5.0 yards per carry), proving to be a very dangerous quarterback when healthy.  Though the 2015 season was a disaster and incredibly rough, Luck should rebound nicely when he's healthy and have a very good career.  There's really no decision to be made when it comes to re-signing Andrew Luck and there's no doubt that it will happen.  The only question is when the extension will come, and all indications are that it could very well happen this offseason.