T.Y. Hilton Deserves a New Deal This Season

Jun 9, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receivers from left to right Griff Whalen(17), T.Y. Hilton (13), and Phillip Dorsett (15) wait their turn to run passing routes during minicamp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Drawbacks of a Great Draft Class: Who Gets Paid First?

Chris Wesseling of NFL.com once praised the 2012 Colts draft class as one of the best listing them along with the Pittsburgh Steelers who drafted four Hall of Famers –  Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and Mike Webster – in their 1974 draft class. Here is what Wesseling had to say:

"Among NFL draft hauls over the past three decades, though, last year’s Indianapolis Colts class stands out. According to NFL Network’s research department, the 55 games started by Colts draft picks were second only to the 2010 New England Patriots (Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Devin McCourty and Brandon Spikes) for most by a playoff team over the same time span. For long-term impact, the Colts‘ class could rival the 1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks) and 1996 Baltimore Ravens (Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis)."

The good news, under the new collective bargaining agreement those rookie contracts were of an even greater value to the Colts. The Colts had several millions of dollars locked up in dead cap space for the first two seasons of the Ryan Grigson Era. The bad news is this is the last year of those rookie contracts.

Fleener, Allen and Hilton all have contracts expiring in 2016. The Colts exercised their 5th-year option on Luck’s contract in April. It is already reported that Luck will have his contract extension taken care of after this season in excess of well over $100 million. Also in line for a new deal is left tackle Anthony Castonzo. In total that makes five offensive starters expecting huge pay raises in 2016.