Michael Pittman Jr.\u2019s future in Indianapolis isn\u2019t as secure as it felt exactly a year ago. And it has nothing to do with his efforts on the field.<\/p>\n
On paper, Pittman was very productive in 2025. He led the Indianapolis Colts in receptions (80), targets (111), and touchdowns (7). In fact, his seven scores were a career high. But his 784 receiving yards were his lowest since his rookie season in 2020. Meanwhile, fellow wideout Alec Pierce crossed 1,000 yards and clearly became the team\u2019s primary deep threat.<\/p>\n
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Still, Pittman Jr.<\/a> has proven over the years that he remains a quality player and should not be under scrutiny after a relatively subpar year. But what\u2019s causing the uncertainty around his future in Indy is money. The wideout carries a $29 million cap hit in 2026, which is the final year of his three-year, $70 million extension. This means he\u2019s due $22 million in base salary plus a $2 million roster bonus early next season.<\/p>\n These numbers have fueled trade and \u201ccap casualty\u201d talk around the WR. So, when Colts GM Chris Ballard met reporters at the Combine Media Day, the question about Pittman\u2019s future was inevitable. Ballard, to his credit, didn\u2019t hesitate to defend his player.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael Pittman\u2019s a really good football player,\u201d Ballard said<\/a>, before doubling down: \u201cWe love Michael. He\u2019s been here his whole career. He\u2019s a really good player. He\u2019s a pro. He\u2019s got a great work ethic. He\u2019s got a great attitude. He\u2019s one of those guys you love having in your building. Michael\u2019s under contract. We\u2019re excited about what he can do for us moving forward. He\u2019s a big part of what we\u2019re doing here.\u201d<\/p>\n But then, Ballard added something that caught everyone off guard. \u201cI don\u2019t know if y\u2019all knew this,\u201d he said with a grin, \u201che\u2019s a pilot now. I knew he was dabbling with it, but I didn\u2019t know he was going up in the air and flying solo and doing all that.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a joke, but it was also true.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Alongside his brother, Mycah, Michael Pittman Jr. co-founded Blitz Aviation, a flight training school built around accessibility and structured instruction. As described<\/a> in their company\u2019s story: \u201cBlitz Aviation was founded by [the brothers] with a simple mission: to make flight training accessible to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n While his brother Mycah completed his private pilot, instrument, commercial, CFI, and CFII ratings in under a year, Michael has followed a similar path. He is now a licensed private pilot and is working toward adding more ratings. And make no mistake, this isn\u2019t a casual hobby for the NFL star, as he has been flying airplanes for more than two years.<\/p>\n That said, none of these answers whether Pittman will still be in Indianapolis long term. GM Ballard never fully shut the door on a restructure or potential move because his mention of the pilot trivia feels more like ducking the question, but releasing Pittman Jr. outright after those comments feels unlikely as well.<\/p>\n For now, Pittman remains under contract, and there are no signs from his side of wanting out. Period. From the Colts\u2019 POV, letting Michael stay would ensure continuity and experience for their exciting project.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n All told, if things ever get turbulent in Indy, at least one thing is certain: Michael Pittman Jr. knows how to land the plane.<\/p>\n The post \u201cHe\u2019s a Pilot Now\u201d: Colts GM Chris Ballard Jokes About WR Michael Pittman Jr.\u2019s Future in Indy<\/a> appeared first on The SportsRush<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Pittman Jr.\u2019s future in Indianapolis isn\u2019t as secure as it felt exactly a year ago. And it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[4994,5422,2005,7,2004,392,2381,4051,4983,6,109938],"class_list":["post-775573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indianapolis-colts","tag-alec-pierce","tag-chris-ballard","tag-colts","tag-football","tag-indianapolis","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-indianapoliscolts","tag-indy","tag-michael-pittman","tag-nfl","tag-pittman-jr"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116131725612098013","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}