Tua Tagovailoa has yet to secure a lengthy contract extension with the Miami Dolphins. Considering that two other first-round quarterbacks from his draft class, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, have gotten huge paydays, some folks are wondering when the No. 5 pick of the 2020 draft will sign on the dotted line.
According to NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, the Dolphins seem prepared to offer a considerable sum to Tagovailoa, although it might not match what Burrow and Herbert received from their respective teams.
“This might be the path of least resistance to get something done because the Dolphins have long considered him a long-term option, but they wanted to see him get healthy,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Well, he played a full 17 games last year, 11 wins, 4,600-plus passing yards. So, he’s in a good spot.
“This is a deal that certainly will be at the high caliber of money but might not be in that $55 million range of the Joe Burrows and the Justin Herberts. So, maybe that makes it easier to do. The Dolphins have scaled back their spending big time this offseason in part because they want to pay this guy. It just depends on if they can find a sweet spot on the money.”
Last September, Burrow inked a historic extension with the Cincinnati Bengals. The two sides agreed to a five-year, $275 million deal that made the 27-year-old star the NFL’s top-paid player in history in terms of annual salary.
Herbert netted his extension with the Los Angeles Chargers a couple of months prior to Burrow completing his. The signal-caller selected right after Tagovailoa in 2020 got a five-year, $262.5 million contract.
Given how well Tagovailoa played in the 2023 season, perhaps he will look for a salary in that range. But even if he can’t score such a massive commitment from Miami, the University of Alabama product would likely welcome a raise from the $23.2 million he is set to earn in base salary this coming season.
The jury’s out on whether Tagovailoa deserves a deal that rivals those of Burrow and Herbert. But what’s certain is that he arguably had the best campaign of his young career in the 2023 season. He completed 388 passes for 29 touchdowns and 4,624 yards, an NFL best.
What made the 26-year-old quarterback’s 2023 season more memorable was that he appeared in all 17 games and racked up an 11-6 record to help his squad book a postseason trip. Even though the Dolphins lost in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the Kansas City Chiefs, the team gave fans some reasons for optimism during the campaign.
It remains to be seen how Tagovailoa’s contract talks with Miami turn out. However, many fans are certainly hoping the partnership will continue for a while longer.
