This story was originally published by Dead Spin
On Friday afternoon, the Miami Dolphins worked out a deal to extend Tua Tagovailoa.
It’s a four-year contract extension that keeps Tagovailoa with the Dolphins through the 2029–30 season. He’ll be paid $212 million, which is good for over $53 million annually. $167 million of that is guaranteed.
This deal makes Tagovailoa the richest player in Dolphins history, and he deserves every single penny.
In an inflated quarterback market headlined by Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, Tagovailoa becomes the third highest-paid QB in the NFL based on average salary per year.
Similarly to Burrow and Lawrence, Tagovailoa has brought structure and consistency to Miami’s quarterback situation, saving them from the days of Ryan Tannehill and Josh Rosen.
Tagovailoa needs to get the job done later in the season, and in the NFL Playoffs, there’s no question about that. He’s 0-1 in the playoffs after an ugly loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
But based on promise alone, the pairing of Tagovailoa with offensive guru Mike McDaniel has worked. Tagovailoa has gotten better every season since the Dolphins selected him fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
He’s dealt with his fair share of injuries, but played all 17 games in 2023 and looked like an MVP candidate while doing so. As long as Tagovailoa stays healthy, there’s no reason to doubt his ability to quarterback the Dolphins to where they want to go, especially as long as Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are in uniform.
In a loaded AFC headlined by Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Burrow, the Dolphins absolutely needed to renew Tagovailoa to keep themselves alive and in playoff contention for years to come.
Tagovailoa has been 12-6 against AFC East competition throughout his career, and he’ll need that to continue. The Buffalo Bills retooled their offense. Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets are at full strength. Factoring in this difficult competition alone explains why the Dolphins felt the need to pay Tagovailoa, and his winning record helped him earn it.
Last season, he threw for over 4,600 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while starting all 17 games. Tagovailoa has been in attendance at Miami’s training camp as they worked on this new contract, and his workload can be expected to increase very soon.
Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who is looking for a new contract of his own, was seemingly thrilled to hear that the Dolphins took care of his franchise quarterback.
If Tagovailoa, who is still just 26 years old, continues to improve under McDaniel’s leadership, the sky might truly be the limit for what the Dolphins could achieve offensively.
If Tagovailoa takes them to the heights they want to go, we’ll be talking about that next contract extension in no time.
