The graph below shows each team in the NFL. The X-Axis shows how much effective cap space in 2019 each team has, as determined by Over The Cap. The Y-Axis shows each team’s winning percentage in 2018. The Colts, with over $100M of effective cap space in 2019, and a 10-6 record in 2018, stand out from the pack; I’ve colored their dot in white and blue. The Houston Texans, third with $83M (the Jets are second with $98M) and an 11-5 record last year, do too; I’ve colored their dot in blue and red.
So how did the Colts field such a good team? It helps to have two All-Pros playing during their rookie seasons, as Indianapolis did with Quentin Nelson and Darius Leonard in 2018. DT Denico Autry is also very cheap, as is, well, almost all of the roster other than Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton.
The graph below shows all of the players currently on the Colts roster; the X-Axis shows their 2019 salary cap hit, and the Y-Axis their 2018 Approximate Value.
The 2018 Colts had only five players with 4 or more points of AV that aren’t under contract for 2019: Margus Hunt (8 points of AV), Pierre Desir (5), and Clayton Geathers (4), Chester Rogers (4) and Al Woods (4).
So how did the Colts get so good? Having Luck, even at a bloated contract, obviously helps, as the value that Leonard, Nelson, and Autry provide is the envy of every team in the league. In addition, the Colts have 7 other players with at least 4 points of 2018 AV and less than $4M of 2019 salary cap value:
I don’t know how sustainable or imitable this strategy is, but the Colts have one of the league’s most enviable rosters: a team talented enough to win now but with the cheapest roster in the league.