Colts sign T.Y. Hilton to whopper extension, paying him like elite receiver
The Indianapolis Colts believe T.Y. Hilton is a premier receiver. How do we know? Because they’re now paying him like one.
The Colts announced a five-year contract extension for the wideout (who was set to enter his free-agent season) that Pro Football Talk reported is worth a total of $65 million, with $39 million total in guarantees.
The numbers are staggering.
In terms of guaranteed money, only Calvin Johnson ($53.25M) and the recently extended duo of Dez Bryant ($45M) and Demaryius Thomas ($43.5M) have more money at the position. (Not even Mike Wallace and his bloated contract have that much cash guaranteed.)
In terms of total dollars, which we know can be misleading, Hilton also ranks fourth behind the same top three players.
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Make no mistake: Hilton has been great for the Colts. He has caught 82 passes each of the past two seasons and upped his receiving-yards total from 1,083 in 2013 to 1,345 in 2014 and has averaged a terrific 15.4 yards per catch over his three seasons.
“It’s a great day for the Indianapolis Colts, T.Y. Hilton and his family,” Colts GM Ryan Grigson said in a statement. “We’re extremely happy as an organization to ensure that T.Y. will continue to be a part of our journey for many years to come. His daily excellence on and off the field is a shining example of an individual striving for greatness and what it truly means to be a Colt.”
But though Hilton only has missed only two games in his brief career, he’s undersized by traditional No. 1 receiver dimensions at 5-9 and 183 pounds and has been held in check in a few big games. The offseason deals for Jeremy Maclin and Randall Cobb now look like relative bargains and thus beg the question: What the heck are Julio Jones and A.J. Green going to get if they hit the open market next year?
Keeping Hilton in Indianapolis is a good thing, and the Colts should have a tremendous offense with the additions of Andre Johnson and Frank Gore, along with a strong corps of other skill-position players, including the similarly sized rookie Phillip Dorsett, whom many believe was drafted as a possible safeguard for losing Hilton in free agency in 2016.
Now we know that’s not that case. Hilton is earning beaucoup money, and he has been one of Andrew Luck’s most trusted targets, so the Colts clearly feel it’s a worthy investment.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
