Jonathan Taylor is staying in Indianapolis, and the Colts are paying up to make sure it happens.
The star running back agreed Thursday to a two-year, $44 million extension with the Colts, according to league sources. The deal can reach $47 million and includes $39 million guaranteed, keeping Taylor under contract through the 2028 season.
For Taylor, it’s the latest step in a relationship he’s made clear he wants to keep going. During minicamp in June, he said, “I’d definitely love to be a Colt for life.
I think I’ve already expressed that to them throughout the years,” Taylor said during minicamp in June. “… Hopefully they feel the same (way) because this is a special place.
Not every building is like this, and I’ve heard some stories now, especially from guys coming from other places, and it’s not like this elsewhere.”
This negotiation played out far differently than the last one. Taylor was heading into the final year of the three-year, $42 million extension he signed in October 2023, a deal that followed a public, sometimes bitter standoff with his agent, Malki Kawa, and late Colts owner Jim Irsay.
Back then, the two sides traded verbal jabs on social media before Taylor finally landed a new contract. This time, Taylor was at training camp and the talks moved much more smoothly, leading to a third contract from the team that drafted him - still a rare outcome for running backs.
The timing also matters because Taylor’s value is near the top of the market. His new average annual salary checks in at $22 million, which is second among running backs.
Only the Atlanta Falcons’ Bijan Robinson sits ahead of him at $22.25 million after agreeing Tuesday to a three-year, $66.8 million deal. Taylor found out about Robinson’s contract after practice and sounded pleased for a fellow back getting paid.
“I gotta go talk to my agent, too,” Taylor said Tuesday. “… I have faith, so I’m gonna tap in and check in with him, now that you guys broke the news to me.”
Two days later, Taylor had his own payday.
It also fits with how Indianapolis has talked about him all offseason. Colts principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon and general manager Chris Ballard both described Taylor as a franchise pillar, making the extension feel like the natural next step.
The 27-year-old just turned in one of the best seasons of his career. In 2025, he played every game and piled up 1,585 rushing yards, his highest total since his first-team All-Pro season in 2021.
He also scored 20 total touchdowns - 18 on the ground and two through the air - tying Hall of Famer Lenny Moore for the most in a single season in Colts history. Taylor is the only Colts player to hit that mark twice, doing it in 2021 and again in 2025.
There’s still some uncertainty around the bigger picture in Indianapolis. Ballard is entering the final year of his contract, and if the Colts miss the playoffs for a sixth straight season, his future could be in jeopardy. But Taylor’s deal makes one thing clear: the Colts are planning with him in mind.
Ballard traded up three spots to take Taylor with the No. 41 pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and the Wisconsin product has rewarded that move by becoming one of the league’s premier backs. He has dealt with durability issues, missing at least three games in each of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, but the production has never really gone away.
Taylor’s career average of 90.5 rushing yards per game is the best among active players and ranks fifth all-time behind Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis and Eric Dickerson. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler, leads Colts history with 69 rushing touchdowns, and his 7,598 rushing yards trail only Edgerrin James, who finished with 9,226.
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