For most of the offseason, it seemed as if Pro Bowl quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins would find common ground on a new contract.
Tua is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to earn $23.17 million. Based on his performance and the ever-evolving quarterback market around the NFL, a significant raise seems to be in the cards.
It was earlier in the week that the Detroit Lions inked star signal caller Jared Goff to a four-year, $212 million contract. This seems to set the market as it relates to a potential Tagovailoa extension in South Beach.
For his part, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier displayed confidence earlier in the offseason that something would get done ahead of the 2024 campaign.
“We stayed in touch with his agent. We had good conversations throughout the year. We never talked about money or anything, just conversations about where he is and the relationship with Mike and the team here and everything he’s done. The goal is to have him here long-term playing at a high level. That’s always the goal and we will continue to communicate with him in the offseason.”
Dolphins GM on Tua Tagovailoa contract back in January
The latest update on this situation might make things a bit problematic between the two sides.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Tua has been absent from voluntary off-season activities thus far this spring. The absence is directly related to his contract situation.
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Whether this means Tua will actually hold out during training camp if an extension is not agreed to remains to be seen. It still seems highly unlikely.
What we do know is that Miami is attempting to protect itself on a new contract.
“Signing bonus, base salary, workout bonus, per game roster bonuses—that’s something [the Dolphins are] going to want to put in the contract. Per game roster bonus is high because of his health—but the agent side will balk at it,” ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacquez reported recently.
This past season saw Tua complete 69% of his passes for a league-leading 4,624 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Regardless of whether the Dolphins’ brass believes he can be an elite franchise guy, he’s likely their best option moving forward. This gives Tagovailoa and his reps over at Athletes First a ton of power in negotiations.
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