With Michael Pittman Jr. entering the final season of his rookie contract, the Indianapolis Colts must work on a contract extension with the talented receiver.
The next year will be very tough for Chris Ballard and the front office of the Indianapolis Colts. A lot of Indy’s best players are entering the final season of their contracts. One of those players is wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who’s entering the fourth and final season of his rookie deal.
Michael Pittman Jr. has been the No. 1 receiver for the Colts the last couple of seasons. After contributing with 40 receptions, 503 yards, and one touchdown as a rookie in 2020, Pittman established himself as the top wideout in 2021 with 88 catches for 1,082 yards, and six touchdowns. He followed that up with 99 receptions for 925 yards and four touchdowns in 2022.
Now, Pittman is eligible for a contract extension. Teams have to have multiple quality receivers in this league, and with the Colts adding a young quarterback soon, they will likely be really motivated to keep Pittman around. So when should we expect to see an extension get done?
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently predicted that Michael Pittman Jr. will be one of the players throughout the league that signs a contract extension this offseason.
Will Colts sign Michael Pittman Jr. to an extension this offseason?
Ballentine argues that Indianapolis likely wants to keep Pittman around for the same aforementioned reasons: a competitive team, especially with a young quarterback, needs really good wide receivers. The Colts will have one by extending Pittman, keeping him around for years to come.
Ballentine also explained why it makes sense for the team and Pittman to get a deal done this offseason. For Indy, it’s best to just get it out the way before the wide receiver market rises even more with another free agency cycle. For Pittman, Ballentine explained that “Pittman would be wise to cash in now in case things go south with a rookie quarterback potentially throwing to him next season.”
As for the expected numbers of this contract extension, as highlighted by Ballentine, “Spotrac projects a four-year, $73.7 million for Pittman.” That could be considered a lot but that is the market for wide receivers. Indianapolis will be challenged with arriving at the best number to retain Pittman, while also trying to extend and re-sign other key players.