Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins agree to terms on 4-year, $212.4 million contract extension: Report
The Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have agreed to terms on a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
The deal was expected to land in the $50 million per season range, Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported in late April. Tagovailoa's extension puts him at $53.1 million per season, a little short of the $55 million quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence make annually in their deals. (Green Bay's Jordan love joined that $55 million club later on Friday after he got a four-year, $220 million extension, Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein confirmed.)
Tagovailoa's deal comes with $167.1 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network.
The Dolphins seemed to confirm the news on social media a few minutes after the initial report.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) July 26, 2024
Tagovailoa, 26, was a very limited participant in Wednesday's first training camp practice and sat out of individual and team drills entirely on Thursday as contract talks with the Dolphins continued. The expectation from head coach Mike McDaniel was that Tagovailoa would be more involved in practice on Friday.
"I think it’s important to acknowledge that Tua’s in the midst of a contract negotiation," McDaniel told reporters, via DolphinsWire. "That’s important to him and the football team. That being said, we communicate very well and it’s very fluid, we’re taking it day by day. Today, I expect it to be kind of like OTAs and we’ll move on from there."
During OTAs, Tagovailoa took part in individual and 7-on-7 drills, but didn't participate in 11-on-11 drills. With an agreement now in place, his full participation will likely no longer be in question and last season's top-ranked offense can get to work together.
The Dolphins rank No. 12 in Yahoo Sports' power rankings entering the 2024 season. In his quarterback assessment, Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab wrote:
Tua Tagovailoa was robbed of NFL Comeback Player of the Year. It's easy to forget that last offseason, a regular conversation centered around Tagovailoa's concussions and his future (last season's Dolphins preview focused on Tagovailoa's health concerns). Tagovailoa said he considered retirement, but came back and played at a near MVP level. That's not a better comeback story than Joe Flacco and his five starts? Regardless of the terrible way that award is voted on, Tagovailoa had a season that deserved to be celebrated.
Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards. He had 29 touchdowns and a 101.1 passer rating. Tagovailoa's 97.1 career passer rating is tied for 12th all-time among qualified passers, right ahead of Steve Young and Peyton Manning. Even if passer rating isn't a great stat to compare quarterbacks across eras, Tagovailoa has become a remarkably productive passer. He was in the MVP conversation for most of last season and it was justified. He won't get the credit he has earned because many analysts don't like to backtrack on their takes, and the narrative on Tagovailoa early in his career was that he was a terrible pick ahead of Justin Herbert. But a career comparison with Herbert now is a lot closer than you'd be led to believe.
"We’re strong believers in him," Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said."
Tagovailoa was projected to be the NFL's No. 1 overall pick throughout his junior year at Alabama, until he suffered a hip injury versus Mississippi State that ended his season with three games remaining. He has struggled with injuries throughout his NFL career, including a rib injury that limited him to 13 games in 2021.
Most notably, Tagovailoa sustained a concussion in Week 4 of the 2022 season after his head hit the turf on a tackle. He reacted with a fencing response typically associated with a traumatic brain injury. The previous week, Tagovailoa also apparently suffered a concussion that was initially diagnosed as a back injury and he was allowed to keep playing.
The contracts of Tagovailoa and Love will likely be compared and dissected for years to come, as Tagovailoa, despite more prolific stats and more experience as a starter, got less than his counterpart.
The 2023-24 campaign was the best of his four seasons since the Dolphins selected him No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Tagovailoa's performance last year helped Miami rank as the NFL's top offense, averaging 401.3 yards per game.
