The Indianapolis Colts have worked out a long term deal with wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. After three years in the NFL, Hilton earned a five-year $65 million deal with a reported $39 million guaranteed. The deal will make Hilton a member of the Colts through 2020.
Hilton’s agent Drew Rosenhaus had been in Anderson, Ind. while the team held training camp so we knew a deal would likely be worked out soon. Team owner Jim Irsay recently stated that he felt there was no reason a deal couldn’t be worked out before the start of the season and the Colts saw to that this week.
The talented young receiver managed to get a deal similar to that of Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas. Hilton will earn roughly $13 million per year, while Bryant and Thomas are pulling down $14 million. But the guaranteed money (a staggering $39 mil) is second only to Calvin Johnson, whose contract has nearly $49 million in guarantees.
After getting Colts WR TY Hilton $39 million in guaranteed money, Drew Rosenhaus off to meet with Steelers for reworked Antonio Brown deal.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 13, 2015
Brown and Hilton grew up together in Miami, facing off against each other and Hilton has also been compared to Brown (who is two years older). Last season, Brown led the league in receptions and yardage and now that Rosenhaus has the ground level work for Hilton, I’d expect Brown to get an even richer deal.
Extending Hilton’s contract is just the first piece of the 2012 class puzzle. GM Ryan Grigson still has to consider contracts for tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener as well as Andrew Luck (who will likely end up being the highest paid player in the NFL). Irsay also stated that the Colts are working to get an extension done with left tackle Anthony Castonzo.
While the Colts drafting Phillip Dorsett (a Hilton clone) appeared to leave TY unhappy, there was never any real concern that Hilton would leave. He’s become too valuable to what the team does on offense and, more importantly, to Luck himself. Hilton has been his top target the past two seasons, and there is no indication that will drastically change, even with all the weapons on offense.
The Colts have a history of re-signing the best players they’ve drafted over the past 15 years and this is no exception. The deal isn’t technically signed yet, but the Colts have announced and Hilton has received congratulations from his teammates via twitter.
With the new deal, Hilton moves into the financial elite of wide receivers and with that, higher expectations on the field as the fourth highest paid receiver in the NFL (for now).