Jim Irsay: 'Good chance' Colts lock up Andrew Luck this offseason

INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts owner Jim Irsay believes "there's a good chance" that the team will sign franchise quarterback Andrew Luck to a contract extension that will be worth "nine figures" during the offseason.

"Obviously being this early, there's no reason to think that we would have had major negotiations yet, but that's going to be happening as this month gets later and March comes in and all that sort of thing," Irsay said Tuesday. "I think there's a good chance we'll get something done."

Irsay said during the NFL owner's meetings in March 2014 that his goal would be to sign Luck to a long-term deal this offseason. The Colts picked up Luck's fifth-year option ($16.1 million) for the 2016 season last spring.

Irsay knows Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in 2012, will be one of the highest-paid players in the NFL once he gets his new contract.

"Whether it's going to be the highest and all those sort of thing, we'll see how that goes," Irsay said. "...I see Andrew here, God willing, for a really long time, and this won't be his last contract. With him at 26 years old, it's going to be ringing the bell in terms of nine figures and that sort of thing."

Luck led the Colts a step further in the playoffs in each of his first three seasons in the league. One thing Irsay did caution about is that he wants Luck's new contract to be salary-cap friendly so the team will be able to surround the quarterback with talented players.

"To me, it's not a matter of what the number is going to be, but again, making sure that we have room to surround him with a championship football team and that it's as cap friendly as it can be as we go through the end of this decade from 2016 to 2020," Irsay said. "You want to make it cap friendly and you want to have the ability to possibly alter it as time goes on to help the cap in different things like that."

If for some reason the Colts don't strike a deal with Luck by the end of the 2016 season, they can use their franchise tag on Luck for the 2017 season, which would give him a one-year deal worth the average of what the top five quarterbacks in the league make.

Luck is coming off the worst season of his four-year NFL career. He threw 15 touchdowns and committed 13 turnovers in just seven games. He missed nine games due to rib, shoulder, kidney and abdominal injuries. Irsay said Luck's lacerated kidney, which ended his season in Week 9 against Denver, is finally healed.

"We have continued to monitor that with the kidney doctors and he is good to go," Irsay said. "He's healed. He's really looking forward to a great offseason and getting ready. If we were playing in the Super Bowl, he'd be ready to go."