5 reasons Andrew Luck extension was a good move

4.He is still 26 years old

When comparing Andrew Luck to the great quarterbacks in the league, Luck’s biggest advantage is that he still has upside. Quarterback is a position that seems to be able to hold up for longer than any other in the NFL. Tying a player up from when he is 26 to age 32, essentially his prime six years, makes a ton of sense.

By the start of the NFL season, Tom Brady will be 39, Drew Brees will be 37, Ben Roethlisberger 34 and Aaron Rodgers will be 32. All of these quarterbacks were just starting to have their best seasons at Luck’s age.

The Chargers were drafting their replacement for Brees at Luck’s age. Rodgers was a first-year starter coming off of a 5-11 season. Roethlisberger had the same number of interceptions as Luck through their first four seasons. In Brady’s first two seasons he threw 1.7 touchdowns for every interception ratio. From his age 25 season on he threw three touchdowns per interception.  

The theme here is that all of them did not only get better, they got significantly better from their age 25 season on.

Heck, you could argue, Brady aside, that Luck has been the next most successful this early in his career. These are the historically great quarterbacks of the past decade.

So, the Colts have a chance to lock up a player on a trajectory similar to the most elite quarterbacks the game has seen, and it is a problem because of what he did before he even hit his prime? Would you rather them overpay him well after his best statistics have been obtained and he is now restricted to a dink and dunk offense? Wouldn’t you rather have the cap space at that point in his career? Paying for the talent the future has to bring is the smartest option.

Next: 3. The salary cap always rises