New Headline: "Colts Boss Faces Legal Action Over $14. 7M Deal by Pierce
Alec Pierce's contract includes a void year that spreads out his cap hit, allowing Indianapolis to reduce his 2026 cap hit even further.
The Colts structured the contract of wide receiver Alec Pierce in a way that gives Indianapolis salary-cap relief in 2026 and saves the larger cap hits for 2027 and beyond, after several other large contracts come off the books. Pierce signed a four-year deal worth up to $114 million that includes a $26 million signing bonus, according to a source familiar with the contract, an average of $28. 5 million that makes Pierce the 11th-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL.
Indianapolis also included one void year in 2030 that spreads out the cap hit even further, although it will not come into play unless the Colts negotiate an extension at some point in the future. When a player’s signing bonus is calculated, it is spread over the full life of the contract, so teams sometimes include a void year at the end to further divide the signing bonus. Pierce’s cap hit in 2026 is only $9.
2 million because of the way the deal is structured. From Pierce’s standpoint, the money headed into his bank account is roughly the same. Pierce’s $26 million signing bonus is paid in 2026, and coupled with his $4 million base salary, he gets $30 million in the first year of the deal.
Pierce also gets $30 million in the second year of his contract, but it is paid out in base salary, raising his cap hit in 2027 to $35. 2 million. The first two base salaries of his contract are fully guaranteed at the time of signing.