The Indianapolis Colts and 3x All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson have agreed to a 4 year $80M contract extension which will completely reset the guard market moving forward.
The deal which includes $60M in guaranteed money will make Nelson the highest paid guard in NFL history. Prior to the 26 year old inking his new contract, the most lucrative deal an NFL guard had ever signed was Brandon Scherff’s 3 year $49.5M contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason.
With his record setting extension now in place, Nelson is now the 4th highest paid offensive lineman in the league trailing only Trent Williams, David Bakhtiari and Laremy Tunsil in terms of AAV.
The former Notre Dame o-lineman was heading into the final year of his rookie contract and was set to make $13.8M this season.
“Everyone knows what great ability he has, but I think what makes Quenton special is how smart he plays and how instinctive he is,” head coach Frank Reich said. “I think that’s what takes his game over the top. He’s a physically dominant player, but it’s his instincts and his intelligence that take him I think to another level. During the game, he’s one of those guys where if he says, ‘Hey, here’s what I’m seeing and feeling,’ like over the years, you go back and look at the tape and he’s always right as far as what he’s seeing and feeling. So, you trust him.”
Originally selected 6th overall by the Colts in the 2018 NFL draft, Nelson has made three 1st team All-Pro lists and one 2nd team All-Pro list last year when he missed 4 games due to injury.
Widely considered to be one of the best guards in the game, Nelson and the Colts stout offensive line helped Jonathan Taylor break out with a league leading 1,811 rushing yards in 2021.
“Quenton, he is a generational player that – I’m sorry, I see (John) Hannah and I see him of the last hundred years. I mean that’s how good Quenton is,” Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay said in 2021. “As far as leadership and the type of team guy he is, it’s off the charts. He is why the Colts are a physical team. When you’re coming to play us, you are coming to play the Big Q and he is the guy that represents us out there and everyone on this roster knows.”
In signing the Holmdel, New Jersey native to an extension, Colts GM Chris Ballard is continuing a trend of locking up homegrown talent for the foreseeable future. Over the last few seasons Indianapolis have inked Nelson, Shaq Leonard, Braden Smith, Ryan Kelly, Zaire Franklin, Tyquan Lewis and Nyheim Hines to long term deals.
The Colts open their 2022 season against the Houston Texans in Week 1.
Photo: Tennessee Titans. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.