The Indianapolis Colts agreed to a three-year deal with linebacker Zaire Franklin on Tuesday, and now the details of that contract have been released.
It’s a solid deal for both the Colts and Franklin. While he isn’t a major player on defense, he did see the third-most snaps among Colts linebackers in 2021. Where he makes his impact is on special teams and in the locker room.
That may not sound flashy or exciting, but it’s still an extremely necessary part of football. Let’s take a look at how the contract breaks down for the Colts and Franklin.
Starting at the top, the deal is for three years worth up to $12 million with $4 million guaranteed.
In 2022, Franklin has a base salary of $1.1 million and a roster bonus of $2 million. That combined $3.1 million is fully guaranteed for the 2022 season. He also has $510,000 in per-game roster bonuses. His salary-cap hit is $3.61 million.
In 2023, Franklin has a base salary of $2.49 million with $900,000 guaranteed. He also has $510,000 in per-game roster bonuses and is a salary-cap hit of $3 million. There is no guaranteed money after 2023.
In 2024, Franklin has a base salary of $2.88 million and per-game roster bonuses of $510,000. He carries a cap hit of $3.39 million.
Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star reported that Franklin has $500,000 in playtime/playoff incentives for 2024 along with $500,00 playtime/playoffs as a 2023 base escalator and a $1 million playtime/playoffs base escalator in 2024.
So, essentially it is a three-year deal worth $10 million with $2 million in incentives and base escalators.
Here’s a visual view of the contract from Over The Cap:
It was necessary that the Colts brought back Franklin and they got a solid deal in re-signing him to a three-year contract.
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