Charvarius Ward…through the looking glass

[Kray007]

I’m not sure that anyone on this board disagrees that the best case scenario is for him to make a total recovery, return to the team, and play.

He is a high-end, shut down, Cornerback. Pair him with Sauce Gardner and the result is transformative. Trevor Lawrence and CJ Stroud don’t look anywhere near as good if they have no one to throw to. Laiatu Latu looks a lot better with an extra half second to get to the quarterback.

But, to be perfectly honest, three concussions. The argument can be made that he should simply walk away. There are more important things than football.

My question, and this is where the discussion turns uncomfortable, is whether he can afford to retire, and if he does, how does that impact the colts financially and cap wise ?

I’ll start up by saying that I’m not a professional capologist. My knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep.

I don’t know how much he was paid in San Francisco, I don’t pretend to know much of anything about his financial resources.

He signed a three year $53 Million contract, which should’ve set him up for life. If the Colts were to cut him, there would be an $18 million cap hit this year. As a result, I don’t expect to see that kind of move out of Chris Ballard.

If Charvarius retires, the numbers become less straightforward. His contract is suspended, and the Colts are off the hook for his $13 million salary.

If Carlie and Ballard are completely mercenary, they can take him to arbitration and wring back the pro rated portion of his signing bonus, $13.2 million.

In theory, that’s $26 million in cap space.

As I said, though, I am no capologist. I don’t have access to the terms of his specific contract, and I haven’t read the collective bargaining agreement, so this is speculation of the rankest kind..

It’s possible that a lot comes down to his retirement status, and whether he retires, or is allowed to retire, due to injury. If he does, it might or might not change the financial equation.