Jonathan Taylor signs $44 million Colts extension

The Colts had a decision to make with Jonathan Taylor entering the final year of his deal, and they didn't wait around. Indianapolis and Taylor agreed to a two-year, $44 million extension worth up to $47 million with $39 million guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport.

That number makes Taylor the largest third-contract running back in NFL history, per Schefter, and it lands him just behind Bijan Robinson as one of the two highest-paid backs in football on a per-year basis. Not bad for a position the league has spent years trying to talk itself out of paying.

The production backs it up. Over the last two seasons Taylor has racked up 626 carries, 3,026 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns, and he capped 2025 by leading the NFL in carries and rushing touchdowns. This wasn't a nostalgia deal for a fading star — it's a team paying its best player at the top of his game.

It also puts Taylor's deal in context with everything else the Colts did this offseason. Between Daniel Jones' 2-year, $88 million extension, Alec Pierce's 4-year, $114 million deal and now Taylor, Indianapolis has bet big money on its entire offensive core staying together. Schefter noted the front office still has to figure out Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, both entering contract years — so the checkbook isn't closing anytime soon.

Taylor made the announcement personal once the ink dried. At practice that night, alongside owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, he told the fans in attendance the news himself — and threw in free beer for everybody there to celebrate.

It's a nice bookend to a running back market that's been reshaping itself all summer, with Robinson, Taylor and now Jahmyr Gibbs all cashing in or angling to. For Colts fans, though, the bigger story is simpler: the guy who just led the league in carries and touchdowns isn't going anywhere, and he bought the round to prove it.