Not everyone is a fan of Alec Pierce's new contract with the Indianapolis Colts.
One of the Indianapolis Colts' main objectives this offseason was to keep their offensive core together. With quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce both set to hit free agency, allowing them to walk out the door was not an option in this win-now season.
Right as the NFL's free agency negotiating window opened, a new deal was announced between the Colts and Pierce: Four years for $114 million, including $84 million guaranteed. It was the richest contract ever dolled out to a free agent wide receiver.
This new contract was a major leap of faith by the Colts, entrusting a player who's never been the focal point of the offense — Pierce has never had more than the third-most targets on the team in a season — to not only continue being one of the most dangerous offensive players in the NFL, but also to take his game to a whole other level. However, Pierce's lack of being a high-target player drew some skepticism nationally.
Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon called Pierce the Colts' most overpaid player on the roster after free agency.
"Pierce was in the right place at the right time as the wide receiver market was essentially reset with him this month in free agency," Gagnon wrote. "His new four-year, $114 million deal makes him the 12th-highest-paid wideout in the NFL despite the fact that he's never caught 50 passes, scored eight touchdowns, or hit the 1,100-yard mark in his four-year career."
Fellow B/R writer Gary Davenport then also referred to the Colts' new deal for Pierce as one of the eight worst overpays of free agency in the entire NFL.
Dec 22, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (14) makes a catch for a touchdown defended by San Francisco 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown (27) in the first quarter of the game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images"Pierce has never logged even 50 catches in a season. His 1,003 receiving yards last year barely cracked the top-20 among pass-catchers. And he has never had a catch percentage over 56 percent, which ranked dead last among 1,000-yard receivers last year," Davenport said.
National pundits aren't wrong to take the wait-and-see approach. While Pierce has led the NFL in yards per catch in each of the last two years, his career highs are 47 catches, 1,003 yards, and seven touchdowns. It's not uncommon for the NFL's top receiver in a given year to have in the ballpark of 125 catches, 1,700 yards, and 15 touchdowns, and now Pierce is being paid to threaten those numbers.
However, the Colts are quite confident in what they're about to see from Pierce.
The Colts made some highly consequential plays to lock him in. First and foremost was agreeing with Jones on a multi-year deal: two years for $88 million. Pierce almost certainly would've left Indy had Jones' new deal not been done.
Michael Pittman Jr., who'd been the Colts' top pass-catcher since 2021, was also traded away to make room financially for Pierce's new deal and to make room in the offense. Pittman's 118 targets per season have now been vacated, allowing for Pierce to fill a large part of the void.
While there is due apprehension about rewarding a seldom-used player with such a gaudy contract, all parties understand what's at stake.
"That’s going to be something that I knew was going to come with getting this type of contract, and that was probably the biggest thing I was excited about," Pierce told reporters after signing his new deal. "Not necessarily like – the money and all that is great, but I know with that comes the opportunities and like the chances to get more balls thrown to you and just affect the game even more."