With ESPN’s Pat McAfee on ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ Indianapolis Colts recently re-signed wide receiver Alec Pierce shared his initial thoughts and excitement after reportedly inking a 4-year, $116 million contract extension (with $84 million guaranteed, $60 million being guaranteed at signing)—which is a historic deal for his position:
“Yeah, I think with the whole tag thing,” Pierce commented. “I thought initially, and my agents thought initially that we were going to be in some sort of franchise tag or whatnot, and they were going to be getting a deal done with Daniel (Jones).”
“When things kind of went that way for Daniel, so they ended up having to use the tag (on him), then it kind of opened it up like, ‘Oh, wow! We’re going to be the #1 free agent wide receiver out here.’”
“So then those opportunities started flooding in, but I knew where my heart was. I knew I loved the city of Indianapolis. Just seeing where we were at last year. Early in the year, rolling, I truly believe we were the #1 team in the NFL. Obviously, just didn’t finish out the season like we should’ve, but I think we get back to where we were with Daniel. I know they’re going to get his deal done and lock him down, and I think we can be special.”
Although Pierce was reportedly offered larger deals from other suitors, including a ‘huge offer from the Washington Commanders,’ it appears as though his heart was always in Indianapolis—and he was hoping to return. The Colts made a very competitive offer, and it sounds like the two sides burned the midnight oil early Monday morning and formally got things done right as the league’s official tampering period kicked off a handful of hours later around noon.
While Pierce and his camp were adamant that the Colts starting quarterback position weighed heavily on his ultimate decision, it appears as though Indy’s returning lead wideout is confident that Jones will be re-signed in Indianapolis sooner rather than later—as the pairing shared a lot of success in their debut campaign together.
What is clear, is that the Colts kept their best wide receiver, and one of the offense’s top playmakers—and an elite deep threat at that, for the foreseeable future. Still only 25-years-old, Pierce’s best football should still be well ahead of him, as he enters his playing career prime. He’s only gotten better since entering the league in 2022 and just had a breakout 2025 campaign.
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