INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin, the heart and soul of the team's defense and one of the NFL's leading tacklers the past two seasons, is signing a three-year, $31.26 million contract extension with the team, his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Franklin was entering the final year of a three-year, $10 million deal he signed in the spring of 2022, before he became a full-time starter and a centerpiece of the defense. He was scheduled to make $3.36 million in total compensation this season, less than fellow Colts linebacker E.J. Speed ($4 million), who only became a full-time starter this season.
Only Jacksonville's Foye Oluokun (357) has more tackles since the start of the 2022 season than Franklin's 345.
Franklin had been quietly seeking a new contract, feeling strongly that he had outperformed his last deal. But it was unclear whether the Colts would grant those wishes given his one remaining season on the contract.
When asked about the deal last season, Franklin referred to it as "a special teams contract," presumably because it was based mostly on his past contributions as a special teams ace.
Since then, Franklin has gone on to become a key piece of the Colts' roster, voted a captain by his teammates and embracing his role as a vocal leader and physical enforcer.
The new contract is the next step in a remarkable journey for Franklin, a seventh-round pick in 2018 who played largely a special teams role for his first 3½ seasons before receiving bigger opportunities during the 2021 season.
He's now looking to take the next step.
"Now that I feel like I've [established] myself as one of the best, why not try to be No. 1?" he said recently. "Why not try to change games? Why not try to be a guy that just wreaks havoc every time.
"The hunger and the fight is definitely there for sure."