The Miami Dolphins are facing a major decision on what kind of contract they are willing to offer quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and NFL observer Nick Wright implied the team would be making a mistake by paying the quarterback like one of the best in the game.
Nick Wright says on FS1 that if the Dolphins pay Tua like he is a star, you are putting a massive hard ceiling on the team. pic.twitter.com/pU98y9UAR8
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) April 9, 2024
Tagovailoa is under contract through the 2024 NFL season after the Dolphins picked up his fifth-year option more than a year ago. He has been eligible for a contract extension, but the sides did not come to an agreement on a long-term deal prior to last season.
In February, a report emerged indicating that Tagovailoa will ultimately land a new deal worth more than $50 million per season. The 26-year-old and Miami general manager Chris Grier in the past have expressed optimism that the quarterback will be with the Dolphins for the long term.
NFL teams that have a franchise quarterback usually try to extend that player before he enters his fifth NFL season, as Tagovailoa will be doing this year. The University of Alabama product was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Two other quarterbacks taken with high picks in that draft – Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 1 overall and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 6 overall – have already signed lucrative new contracts. Last offseason, Burrow secured a five-year, $275 million deal after Herbert got a five-year, $262.5 million extension from the Chargers.
In part, Wright’s point is likely that paying a quarterback such a significant sum can create problems constructing the rest of the roster because of salary cap allocation.
One NFL agent said the Dolphins should have prioritized a contract for Christian Wilkins before getting to one for Tagovailoa. The standout defensive tackle wound up signing with the Las Vegas Raiders as a free agent this offseason.
The Dolphins conceivably could roll the dice, let Tagovailoa play out the season and become a free agent and decide whether to sign him after that. But that could wind up being more costly – on many levels – than taking care of it sooner rather than later.
