Colts owner Jim Irsay donates to help free Lolita, an orca whale, from Miami Seaquarium

Lolita the killer orca whale is returning to "home waters" after five decades of being in captivity, and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is a big reason why.

On Thursday, the Miami Seaquarium announced the binding agreement with Friends of Lolita to free the 57-year-old whale who is also known by her Native American name of Tokitae, or "Toki."

"Lolita will receive the highest quality care as the team works to make relocation possible in the next 18 to 24 months," the Miami Seaquarium said in a statement. "We thank Jim Irsay, Friends of Lolita, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and everyone who has been part of this incredible milestone."

The day before, Irsay tweeted about the news and said filmmaker Ryan White would document Lolita's journey.

"I’ll be at a big press conference in Miami on Thursday at 11:30am for a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT about the future of LOLITA the orca," Irsay wrote on his Twitter account.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the news has been years in the making.

"Before the Blackfish documentary, before a trainer died in a Central Florida theme park, before the population of her killer whale family crashed, there was the quiet negotiation 25 years ago this month to free one of the most famous orcas in the world, Lolita," the Post wrote in 2022.

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However, the plan fell apart for unknown reasons, the Post stated.

Lolita will be returned to the Salish Sea area of the Pacific Northwest that spans Washington State and Canada's British Columbia province.

Irsay and his family are not strangers to helping out causes they are passionate about. In 2022, the Irsay family donated to Riley Children's Foundation to expand mental health services for kids and teens. In 2021, Irsay gave $3 million dollars to Indiana University to establish a new research center on mental health.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jim Irsay: Colts owner helps free killer orca whale from captivity