The Indianapolis Colts will pick up their option for the 2020 season on center Ryan Kelly’s contract, Chris Ballard, the NFL team’s general manager, said.

The Colts have until Friday to exercise their option on Kelly’s rookie contract, which the Alabama All-American signed after joining Indianapolis as the 18th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

When Indianapolis exercises its option for a fifth season, Kelly's pay for the 2020 campaign will be set at the average of the offensive linemen with the third- through 25th-highest salaries in 2019, which should be close to $10 million.

Kelly's four-year rookie contract was worth $10.45 million and has a base salary of $1.875 million for 2019.

The 2020 money becomes guaranteed against injury as soon as Indianapolis uses the option and will be fully guaranteed if Kelly is on the team when the NFL's business year begins in March.

Ballard told reporters the Colts planned to pick up the option this week while discussing the team’s draft picks and outlook on Saturday night.

After starting every game during his rookie season, injuries sidelined Kelly for nine games in 2017 and four in 2018, although he returned to the field for Indianapolis' two playoff contests last season.

The Colts will return their five offensive-line starters in 2019 after yielding 18 sacks in 2018, the fewest in the NFL even though only one team threw more passes than Indianapolis.

To Kelly and left tackle Anthony Castonzo, the Colts added left guard Quenton Nelson and right tackle Braden Smith of Auburn in the first two rounds of last year's draft and right guard Mark Glowinski off the waiver wire. Nelson and Smith made the Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie team.

Only the rookie contracts of first-round draft picks carry team options for a fifth season. Kelly's option is the first the Colts have picked up since quarterback Andrew Luck's in 2015.

Indianapolis' two first-round draft picks between Luck in 2012 and Kelly in 2016 didn't stay with the team long enough for the Colts to need to make a decision. Indianapolis released defensive end Bjoern Werner after three seasons and traded running back Phillip Dorsett after two. Werner was the 24th player picked in the 2013 NFL Draft, and Dorsett was the 29th player picked in the 2015 NFL Draft.

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Kelly started at center for three seasons at Alabama. He was a consensus All-American and the Rimington Trophy winner as the nation's best center in 2015, when the Crimson Tide won the CFP national championship. Kelly also was a member of Alabama's BCS national-championship team for the 2012 season.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.