The Indianapolis Colts announced on Monday that they officially signed fourth-round pick Tanor Bortolini. Over the Cap now has the details on what Bortolini’s rookie deal will look like.
Bortolini earned a standard four-year rookie contract that totals $4.799 million with a signing bonus of $799,868.
Bortolini will receive the full signing bonus up front, but from a salary cap perspective, that $799,868 can be pro-rated over the life of the contract. Or, in short, the cap hit in 2024 from that bonus is just $194,967.
That pro-rated signing bonus amount plus a base salary of $795,000 makes up Bortolini’s cap hit for this season, which totals $989,967.
Moving forward, beyond 2024, a $194,967 cap hit from the pro-rated signing bonus will be on the Colts’ books all four years of the contract, along with Bortolini’s base salary increasing each year as well.
In 2025, Bortolini’s base salary will be $960,000. In 2026 it increases to $1.075 million, and then $1.190 million in 2027.
Here is a look at what Bortolini’s cap hit will be each season:
2024: $989,967
2025: $1.154 million
2026: $1.269 million
2027: $1.384 million
The addition of Bortolini to the Colts’ offensive line brings added interior versatility with him able to play both guard positions as well as center.
With the Colts returning all five starters from a unit in 2023 that ranked top 10 in pass rush rate and yards per carry, Bortolini likely provides depth and helps elevate the competition early on.
However, looking ahead to 2025 when both Ryan Kelly and Will Fries are set to be free agents, he could take on a much larger role as a starter.
“To me, with Wisconsin, you know you’re getting,” said area scout Tyler Hughes, “smart, tough, reliable offensive lineman. He’s a guy that started at four different positions for them. (He) He played guard last year, then once (Joe) Tippman left, he bumped inside to center.
“The best thing about him, I’m sure you guys saw his personality, he’s outgoing, a jokester, but his nickname is ‘Badger,’ and that’s kind of the staple of their program. So when you get the nickname Badger, he represents the program extremely well and what we want in our locker room.”
