Philip Rivers contract: Colts new QB gets one-year, $25M deal

Colts are giving Philip Rivers a one-year, $25 million deal, per source. https://t.co/Nhdjuf1250

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2020

The Indianapolis Colts have agreed to a one-year contract with veteran free-agent quarterback Philip Rivers, per multiple reports.

Though it is a bit of a surprise to be a one-year deal, Rivers will be getting paid handsomely at the rate of $25 million for the 2020 season. The details of the contract show that Rivers will be getting all of that guaranteed for the 2020 season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

For the #Colts and QB Philip Rivers, it’s a 1 year deal worth $25M that is guaranteed.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2020

The Colts had roughly $46 million in salary cap space following the trade and contract extension for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner on Monday.

The Colts now find themselves in somewhat of a quandary. With Rivers having such a big cap hit, fellow quarterback Jacoby Brissett carries a cap hit of $21.3 million for the 2020 season. However, they have a chance to save roughly $15 million in cap space if they trade Brissett before June 1.

It will be interesting to see how the Colts go about working the salary cap now that Rivers is taking up such a big hit on the roster. Moving Brissett would be prudent, especially seeing that he isn’t the starting quarterback anymore.

Regardless, the Colts found a quarterback to supplant Brissett after his rough 2019 campaign—even if they had to pay up for it.