The Indianapolis Colts reportedly agreed to a four-year, $114 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts, but the New England Patriots were reportedly interested in him.
According to The Athletic's Jeff Howe, the Patriots were "in on" him, but they did not want to pay as much as the Colts ended up giving him.
"The Patriots were in on WR Alec Pierce as expected, but they weren’t willing to meet that price tag, per source," Howe wrote on Monday.
It's understandable why the Patriots did not want to make him the highest-paid free-agent receiver in NFL History. They have other needs and have already started spending. The team is reportedly signing Dre’Mont Jones to a three-year, $39.5M deal. As for Pierce, he stays with the Colts on a monster deal.
While Pierce was compensated nicely, it was reportedly not his biggest offer. According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, Pierce turned down better offers to stay with the Colts, the team that drafted him.
"Pierce, who was ranked 10th in The Athletic’s top 150 free agents and was the second-ranked receiver, turned down more money elsewhere to stay in Indy, league sources told The Athletic," Russini wrote on Monday.
Pierce will also be getting a larger share of targets now. The Colts are reportedly trading Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittman had 519 targets in the last four seasons, compared to Pierce's 296. Pierce not only got paid, but he also gets to be the primary target for the team that drafted him in 2022.
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