HOUSTON, TX- OCTOBER 09: Andrew Luck #12 of the Indianapolis Colts warms up before playing the Houston Texans in a NFL game on October 9, 2014 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Andrew Luck has one more year left on his rookie contract, but Colts owner Jim Irsay doesn’t want his quarterback going anywhere near free agency.

According to a Colts spokesman, the owner told several reporters that he hopes to agree to an extension with Luck by July 4.

Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, has thrown 101 touchdowns in his four-year career, including a league-leading 40 in 2014. Luck played only seven games in 2015 thanks to a lacerated kidney and torn abdominal muscle, throwing 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

With Luck sidelined, Indianapolis finished 8-8 in 2015, a disappointing result after three straight 11-5 seasons.

When Luck inks an extension, he will probably become one of the NFL’s highest-paid players. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the highest-paid player in 2015, making $22 million, followed by fellow-QBs Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Cam Newton.

This situation is a bit tricky for the Colts, who also need to fill holes on the offensive line and on defense and are presumably worried about using too much cap space on their QB. But at the same time, quarterbacks of Luck’s stature don’t come along too often, and Indianapolis absolutely cannot let him walk away.

The best bet here is that the Colts and Luck come to an agreement that makes the Stanford grad very wealthy and all parties celebrate together with a Fourth of July barbecue.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.