The Indianapolis Colts and free agent wide receiver Alec Pierce have agreed to a new deal just as the league-wide negotiating window opened.
Let’s take a closer look at what this re-signing means for the Colts moving forward.
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Alec Pierce’s contract
According to Tom Pelissero, the deal between the Colts and Pierce came together overnight. In total, Pierce will earn $114 million over four years. This includes $84 million in guarantees, with $60 million fully guaranteed at signing. Pierce can earn a maximum of $116 million on the deal.
A risky move by Chris Ballard works out
By not getting a deal done with Daniel Jones before the tagging deadline on March 3rd, the Colts were forced to use the transition tag on him. This meant that Pierce was free to test the free agent market.
At that point, the possibility of losing Pierce to another team became very real. Pierce was one of the most coveted free agents this offseason, and the Colts were going to face hefty competition to keep him. This may have increased Pierce’s price tag as well, with the market driving his contract value up.
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But that ended up being a moot point. Pierce is under contract, and the Colts appear to be getting closer to working out a deal with Jones.
More salary cap moves have to be made
Not including Pierce’s contract, the Colts were $105,711 over the 2026 salary cap coming into Monday, according to Over the Cap. To absorb Pierce’s deal, while also making more additions and re-signings, a lot more cap space is going to be needed. Ballard will have to be active over the next 48 hours as he works around the salary cap. One player to watch is Michael Pittman, who is a cut candidate.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: NFL free agency: 3 observations from Colts re-signing Alec Pierce
