Why has Colts’ owner Jim Irsay threatened the Washington Commanders with tampering violations?

Though Luck remains outside of the NFL, it now seems that one particular team in the league attempted to make contact with him, something which the Colts owner took serious exception to and as such has now threatened legal action.

Keep your hands off Andrew Luck

On Sunday, Colts owner Jim Irsay laid down a marker by declaring that any team that attempts to make contact with former Indianapolis quarterback, Andrew Luck, can expect to face tampering violations. Irsay’s social media post comes just one day after a report alluded to the idea that the Washington Commanders “phoned about retired Andrew Luck” during their offseason search for a signal caller.

You may recall that Luck retired suddenly in 2019 at the age of 29-years-old with three years remaining on his contract. Interestingly, the Colts did not attempt to recover any of their signing bonus payments, preferring instead to allow Luck to keep the entirety of the $24.8 million that was paid to him. It is understood that in doing so they have effectively ensured that should he return to the NFL, he will pick up where he left off in Indianapolis. Indeed, the franchise does in fact still maintain the rights to his services.

Is Andrew Luck ready to return to the NFL?

To be clear, there has been no indication from Luck or anyone else that he intends to take to the field once again. Now 33-years-old, Luck has not played since tearfully bidding goodbye to the game that made him a star. Citing consistent problems which stemmed from a severe shoulder injury, as well as the mental demands of playing at the top, the Stanford product admitted that the joy had been taken out of football for him. With that, the only option was to do what was best for his mind and his body. Fast forward to today and there appears to be no change in his stance, but that certainly didn’t stop the Commanders from allegedly trying to change his mind.

If you didn’t know, teams are not allowed to have contact with players who are under contract with other teams, which Luck most definitely is. Should there be any weight to this developing story, we can expect to see significant consequences. Most recently the Miami Dolphins lost a first-round and third-round Draft pick, while owner Stephen Ross was suspended after it was established that they had contact with both Tom Brady and Sean Payton. While the aforementioned report does not specify who the Commanders supposedly spoke to in their attempt to connect with Luck, we can assume that it was nobody in the Colts’ front office. Ultimately, it’s worth noting once again that nothing suggests Luck’s return is imminent and the Colt’ ‘selection of Florida QB, Anthony Richardson, at No. 4 overall does seem to indicate they’re moving on. On the other hand, Irsay has made it glaringly clear that one situation has nothing to do with the other i.e., Andrew Luck is off-limits.