Indianapolis Colts warn there's price to pay as rivals target Andrew Luck U-turn

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has sent a stern warning to any teams who may try to sign their former quarterback, Andrew Luck.

Luck retired as the Colts’ QB in 2019 while still having three years left on his contract. And fresh reports emerged over the weekend suggesting that Washington Commanders were possibly interested in signing Luck last year.

A report by ESPN stated that Washington explored the idea of signing Luck during the off-season last year, and whether or not he would be interested in returning to the NFL. Sam Howell is the Commanders’ number one QB, with veteran Jacoby Brissett signed this off-season.

Under NFL rules, Luck technically still remains the property of the Colts due to his contract. With him still having three years left on his deal when he retired, should he opt to return to playing then the Colts would own his rights.

Soon after the reports emerged around Washington supposedly making an attempt to sign Luck in 2022, Colts owner Irsay sent out a warning via his Twitter account. The 63-year-old warned NFL franchises that they would be violating the NFL’s tampering policy should they try to sign Luck.

“If any NFL Team attempted to contact Andrew Luck (or any associate of him)… to play for their Franchise - it would be a clear Violation of the League’s Tampering Policy,” wrote Irsay on Twitter.

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The Washington Commanders were interested in trying to tempt Luck out of retirement (Getty Images)

A follow-up report from ESPN stated that a Colts source says the team is unsure of exactly what the talks around Luck involved. It added that the two-time Super Bowl champions were “seeking to learn” what happened and whether any tampering took place.

NFL rules around tampering are rather vague, but it is stated that direct talks with a player is not required for a violation to occur.

"Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club's player to that player's agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation," the policy regarding tampering states.