Colts’ Jim Irsay warns of tampering if Commanders contacted Andrew Luck

Colts owner Jim Irsay took another public shot at Commanders owner Dan Snyder and the embattled Washington franchise Sunday following a report about retired quarterback Andrew Luck that hit close to home.

According to ESPN, the Commanders at one point attempted to contact Luck or someone associated with him to gauge his interest in a return to the NFL during their search for a quarterback last offseason. After selecting him first in the 2012 NFL Draft, Luck was the Colts’ franchise quarterback until his shocking retirement just before the 2019 season. Irsay addressed the report on Twitter, saying that such an attempt to contact Luck would be a “clear violation” of the NFL’s tampering policy.

The Colts still hold Luck’s contract rights, so if he did ever express a desire to play in the NFL again, he would still be considered under contract with Indianapolis. Thus, the Colts would need to give permission for other teams to contact him — similar to how the Packers allowed the Jets to meet with Aaron Rodgers before the blockbuster trade that sent the quarterback to New York last month — or else such communication would likely be considered tampering per the NFL rule book.

ESPN later reported that the Colts are “seeking to learn more” about what transpired between the Commanders and Luck’s camp.

The Miami Dolphins were recently penalized two draft picks — including a 2023 first-round selection — and owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5 million after an NFL investigation found he and the team had “impermissible conversations” with quarterback Tom Brady both in 2019 when Brady was playing for the New England Patriots and in 2021 when Brady was part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Irsay made waves last year for becoming the first NFL owner to publicly criticize Snyder amid several federal and even a congressional investigation into alleged wrongdoing by Snyder and the Commanders, telling FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer in October that “this is not how we [the NFL] should be represented.”

Snyder reportedly has an agreement “in principle” to sell the Commanders to a group led by Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris that includes Los Angeles Lakers legend and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Magic Johnson. The deal still has to be finalized and approved by the NFL.

The Colts’ quarterback situation has been in flux since Luck’s retirement, as the team attempted to fill the void with several veteran quarterbacks including Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan, with varying success. Indianapolis drafted Anthony Richardson out of Florida with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft after Irsay publicly declared the team would take a quarterback near the top of the draft.

Luck has rarely spoken in public since his 2019 retirement, but when he has, he has reaffirmed that he does not have interest in returning to the NFL. Ironically, the Commanders later acquired Wentz from the Colts to be their Week 1 starter in 2022 after reportedly contacting Luck last offseason.

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