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Which positions do the Colts spend the most money on?
The salary cap has become arguably the number one most important thing that a front office has to manage. It is one thing to acquire talent, which is the most difficult thing to do, but managing a salary cap and ensuring that you keep the best talent on the roster has become the most important thing in today’s NFL.
How do the Colts split up their money? Where do they spend more than other teams and is the money well spent or poorly spent?
The tables below will go by annual average value, as it’s a more accurate representation of how they spend their money whereas cap hit differs greatly year to year, so it doesn’t give you a better picture.
Figures courtesy of Spotrac and Over the Cap
Total Amount Spent: $24.40M
Percentage: 8.3%
League Median Average: $46.10M
League Rank: 21st
Unsurprisingly, the Colts are below the league average in terms of quarterback spending as they have one on a rookie contract and his competition on a cheap prove-it deal at $14M. When teams find their guy, they pay them handsomely and the Colts have not found their guy yet, so the low amount makes sense.
Total Amount Spent: $19.68M
Percentage: 6.41%
League Median Average: $13.80M
League Rank: 4th
The Colts rank amongst the highest in the NFL for money spent on running backs with the contract of Jonathan Taylor. Since running back money spending is purely dependent on the #1 guy, when teams have a true star running back, they’ll throw big money at him. The Colts have a star in Jonathan Taylor and made him one of the highest paid running backs in the league.
Total Amount Spent: $39.64M
Percentage: 12.80%
League Median Average: $41.65M
League Rank: 18th
The Colts spent a lot of money on Michael Pittman Jr, who has been underwhelming since he signed his new contract. Luckily, the Colts have two good receivers in Josh Downs and Alec Pierce who are still on rookie deals, which puts the team below the league average. So overall, you could argue the return on investment is good as this unit is likely better than 18th in the league, but I would still argue that the Pittman contract, to this point, has been a bad one.
Total Amount Spent: $13.11M
Percentage: 4.23%
League Median Average: $17.02M
League Rank: 20th
The tight end group was arguably the worst in the entire NFL, but the addition of Tyler Warren could make them a top 10 unit by year’s end. So while it’s tough to evaluate this unit with the arrival of Warren, up to this point, this group has been so poor that it’s clear the money is not being spent well, even if it’s a small amount. It has been neglected and it’s obvious.
Total Amount Spent: $52.16M
Percentage: 16.84%...
