The Miami Dolphins blocked out the outside noise and did the right thing by signing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to an appropriately lucrative contract extension that, in the end, didn’t even make him the highest-paid player in the NFL. That honor went to Jordan Love despite a much smaller sample size of games and being drafted in the same year of 2020.
Tua got to break his own news of the new deal, which will still pay him north of $200 million.
BREAKING: Tua Tagovailoa has agreed to the largest 4-year extension in NFL history worth $212.4M / $167M Guaranteed 🚨#StraightFromTheSource#GoatFarmMedia pic.twitter.com/FPUTFylBLa
— G.O.A.T. Farm Sports (@GOATfarmmedia) July 26, 2024
💰 Tua Tagovaioa contract details:
➖ 4-years, $212.4M
➖ $42M signing bonus
➖ $93.17M fully guaranteed at signing
➖ $147.17M practical guarantee
➖ $9M in potential incentives(@ProFootballTalk) #GoFins pic.twitter.com/MmWTsMuiYU
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) July 27, 2024
Good for Tua. The guy fought back from multiple concussions that had him contemplating an early retirement. He proceeded to go out and lead the NFL in passing yards this past season to earn his second contract in Miami. Never mind the multiple times he got benched as a rookie in the weird COVID season, and how much his ex-coach Brian Flores hated him. Tua just kept plugging away and came out the other side an excellent player.
This nonsense that Tua can’t win in the playoffs or when the games matter most is prisoner of the moment chatter based on the Dolphins’ record last season against eventual playoff teams. Everyone seems to forget that Jaylen Waddle dealt with a high ankle sprain down the stretch, and Tyreek Hill wasn’t anywhere near 100% by the time Week 17 rolled around and the Fins had a shot to lock up the AFC’s No. 1 seed before the Ravens blew them out.
While a lot of haters proceed to prematurely transcribe Tua’s NFL obituary, he’s out here at Dolphins camp hamming it up for the crowd with Jerry Maguire references.
Hype us up, QB1 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/YuvEkJ5XQj
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) July 28, 2024
In case you’re a sports fan who doesn’t know about Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Oscar-winning role as Rod Tidwell, here you go.
One of the best comedic movie scenes of all-time. Tua has good taste!
This was quite a stark contrast to Mike McDaniel, who’s as much of a public-facing champion for players maximizing their potential and earnings as any head coach you’ll ever find. McDaniel seems to like to stay in the moment and not get too amped up about short-term success.
“This is a handshake and a smile, but not a celebration,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel on Tua Tagovailoa’s deal. pic.twitter.com/aYoGTAOlFh
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) July 28, 2024
I kind of get it. Contract negotiations are always sphincter-tightening situations. So much money was on the line here, not to mention a murky future for Tua with the Dolphins if talks went sour. McDaniel is a certified ball-knower, and there’s a reason he’s advocated so hard for Tua all along. Because he’s a stud.
It baffles me how one loss in the playoffs, on the road, against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, has everyone writing Tua off. Do people not remember Jaylen Waddle was dealing with a high ankle sprain, and that Tyreek Hill was nowhere near 100% down the stretch of last season? The Dolphins had a shot at the AFC’s No. 1 seed before getting blown out by Baltimore in Week 17.
This notion that Tua can’t get it done when it matters most is such prisoner of the moment thinking. Fun fact: He posted a 101.3 passer rating in December last year. He’s had one playoff start, where Miami’s injury-decimated o-line couldn’t establish the run. It was one of the coldest games in NFL history. Mahomes only completed 56% of his passes against a Dolphins defense that was signing guys off the street to play on the edge since Jaelen Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Andrew Van Ginkel were all injured. It’s not like conditions were easy.
Maybe sharing a field with the potential GOAT in Mahomes and a division with another literal generational freakazoid athletic talent in Bills QB Josh Allen contributes to why Tua gets such a bad rap. With the way the quarterback contract market is going, this deal will look like a bargain in a couple years. Old Takes Expose me with receipts. I’ll stand on it. Rise up, TuAnon!!
Players since 2022 with at least 50 pass TD, 8k passing yards and a 100 passer rating:
Tua Tagovailoa. END OF LIST.
If you don't think Tua should get paid you're just a hater pic.twitter.com/dXCoiocAnu
— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) July 26, 2024
