Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is sitting out organized activities to influence contract talks so he can become one of the highest-paid NFL players. However, negotiations between the two sides don’t appear to be going great.
The Dolphins could’ve extended Tagovailoa after his third NFL season, but ownership and the front office were on the same page about not making a long-term commitment at that time. While Tagovailoa played well in 2022, he also suffered multiple head injuries that raised uncertainty for his future.
- Tua Tagovailoa contract: $23.171 million salary in 2024, NFL free agent in 2025
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After he played at a high level in 2023, the Dolphins’ feelings about committing to Tagovailoa have changed. Miami is willing to sign its franchise quarterback to a contract extension, but the deal needs to be very much on the club’s terms. Evidently, the two sides aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on a contract right now.
ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler reported on Sunday’s SportsCenter that Tagovailoa has already rejected at least one contract offer from the Dolphins this year.
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- Tua Tagovailoa stats (2023): 4,624 passing yards, 29-14 TD-INT, 101.1 QB rating, 69.3 percent completion rate, 8.3 yards per attempt, 11-6 record
“He has missed some OTA time, I’ve confirmed, and really it could depend on how negotiations go with his contract as to whether he starts to show up or is there full time. They have had contract talks, preliminary talks. I’m told that the Dolphins have made at least one contract offer but we know how these things go; the offer apparently hasn’t been good enough or he’d probably be there full time. So, the market is pretty set. We saw Jared Goff, $50-plus million a year, that’s going to apply to Tua and Trevor Lawrence.”
Jeremy Fowler on Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
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While terms of the Dolphins’ proposal weren’t disclosed, NFL rumors in recent days suggested that Miami wanted to structure the deal with financial protections in case of an injury. While this is normal in most contracts, the Dolphins are specifically seeking more protections in a deal with Tagovailoa.
The franchise has every right to pursue that, especially early in the negotiation process. However, the going rate for top-12 quarterbacks in the NFL now seems to be at least $50 million per season. Miami does have the flexibility of using franchise tags on Tagovailoa in 2025 and 2026, but that would be costly in the long run.
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