Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard has agreed to a five-year, $99.25 million contract extension, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapaport. $52.5 million of this contract is guaranteed.

The deal will make Leonard the highest-paid inside linebacker in the NFL, breaking San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner's recent record. Leonard will make $20 million annually over the first three years of the contract. Rapaport says that while negotiations were at a “standstill” in recent weeks, the two sides came together to hammer out the deal as Edgerrin James was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The stud Colts linebacker has been one of the best players at his position since coming into the NFL in 2018 as the 36th overall pick. He led the NFL with 163 combined tackles as a rookie and earned First-Team All-Pro honors, and he made First-Team All-Pro once again in 2020. The 26-year-old also has two Pro Bowl selections to his name.

While Leonard recently underwent an offseason ankle procedure, it hopefully shouldn't be an issue when it comes to this upcoming season. He has missed the start of training camp, but there's still about a month before the regular season begins. As long as everything goes right, he should be back before the start of the 2021 campaign.

The Colts also recently gave a hefty extension to right tackle Braden Smith, so they're making sure to lock up their key talents on the roster. Indy went 11-5 in 202 and has had some major injury issues in training camp with Carson Wentz and Quenton Nelson undergoing the same foot surgery, but the franchise will be hoping to overcome this.