MIAMI GARDENS, FL. – The Miami Dolphins have signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a contract extension through the 2028 season.
After a series of concussions, there was a feeling Tagovailoa would never play football again. Instead, the Dolphins and Tagovailoa have agreed to a four-year, $212.4 million extension, the largest in franchise history.
The $53.1 million average annual value of the contract briefly placed Tagovailoa third among the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks, behind the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence and Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, before the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love reached an agreement on a deal hours later that matched Lawrence and Burrow at $55 million in average per year.
“Mike McDaniel went to bat for me,” Tagovailoa said. “I will not go into detail about what I heard was said; he is what he says; he did what I was thinking he would do for me or any other player.”
Tagovailoa’s deal includes $167 million guaranteed, the eighth most among quarterbacks.
The $53.1 million average annual value is more than what Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino made in his playing career.
Since Marino retired before the 2000 season, the Dolphins have struggled at quarterback. Twenty-five players, including Tagovailoa, have started at least one game for the Dolphins since the turn of the century. Only one of those players, 2012 first-round pick Ryan Tannehill, had signed a multiyear extension with the team.
The Dolphins are 19 – 11 in the last two seasons when Tagovailoa starts at quarterback.
Tagovailoa, a first-round selection (fifth overall) by Miami in the 2020 NFL Draft, enters his fifth season with the Dolphins. He has played in 53 games with 51 starts, completing 1,096-of -1,638 passes (66.9 pct) for 12,639 yards and 81 touchdowns along with 137 carries for 381 yards and six rushing touchdowns. He is a two-time team captain (2022-23) with the highest passer rating in Dolphins history (97.1).
“Our objective was to continue growth and work together,” McDaniel said. “In that process, you get compensated. I am happy; I also expected it to get done, and now that it is done, it is about moving forward. It is a hand shack and smile but not a celebration.”
A Pro Bowl selection in 2023, Tagovailoa became the first Dolphins player since Dan Marino in 1992 to lead the league in passing with 4,624 yards and the second to throw for more than 4,500 yards a season. He finished fifth in passer rating (101.1), tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (29) and second in yards per attempt (8.3). He also posted a 69.3 completion percentage in 2023, the best mark in team history in a single season. Over the past two seasons, Tagovailoa has been the NFL’s highest-rated passer on third down. Last September, he became the first Miami player in 30 years to win AFC Offensive Player of the Month.
In 2022, Tagovailoa became the youngest NFL quarterback to lead the league in passer rating (105.5) since Marino in 1984. He also led the NFL in red zone passer rating (112.2) and third-down passer rating (130.1) in 2022. Tagovailoa won the Don Shula Leadership Award and was named the Polynesian Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. He played collegiately at the University of Alabama.
Miami is the only team in the NFL with three offensive skill players making at least $70 million in guaranteed money — wide receivers Tyreek Hill ($72.2 million) and Jaylen Waddle ($71.6 million) being the others. Their combined $310.8 million guaranteed is the third most for any offensive skill trio (QB, RB, WR, TE).
Tagovailoa played every game in 2023 for the first time in his NFL career. The elephant still stands in the room:
- Tagovailoa has not led the Dolphins to a playoff win.
- The team has not won the division with him as quarterback.
- The last Miami playoff victory occurred over the Indianapolis Colts on December 30, 2000.
Photo/TuaTagovailoa/X
One thought