Tua Tagovailoa is still in search of a contract extension from the Miami Dolphins as the 2024 NFL season approaches, but he may have gained some leverage in those negotiations thanks to a deal landed by a fellow AFC quarterback.
“Tua can point to Trevor Lawrence’s deal and say, ‘Hey, look, I just led the league in passing. I played 17 games, showed that I’m durable. Let’s try to get something done,’” NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said. “And so the sense I get after asking around is the Dolphins do want to do a long-term deal, they’ve wanted to for a while.
“They have been in contact in recent weeks. Nothing has intensified as of yet. It’s late June, this is typically a pretty slow time for front offices as they take time off. Could heat up closer to training camp, but the feeling is that they’re going to revamp their efforts. They’re not naive. They know what the market now is with six different quarterbacks making at least $50 million a year, so Tua should join that club, eventually.”
Recently, Lawrence agreed to a massive contract extension from the Jacksonville Jaguars that reportedly is worth $275 million over five years, with $200 million guaranteed. The $55 million average annual value ties Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for the highest amount in the NFL.
Lawrence and Burrow are among six NFL quarterbacks with contracts holding annual values of at least $50 million, including Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions ($53 million), Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers ($52.5 million), Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens ($52 million) and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles ($51 million).
Like Burrow (No. 1 overall), Herbert (No. 5 overall) and Hurts (No. 53 overall), Tagovailoa was selected in the 2020 NFL Draft (No. 6 overall). Lawrence was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Tagovailoa has been eligible for a contract extension from the Dolphins for more than a year, and the team picked up his fifth-year option for the 2024 season back in March of 2023. The sides have held talks for quite some time but as of yet have not come to an agreement on a major deal.
The University of Alabama product indeed may be looking to become the latest $50 million quarterback in terms of annual value, but that price point may be beyond what the Dolphins are willing to pay. But when compared to Lawrence side by side, Tagovailoa would seem to have had a comparable career.
Lawrence, in his three NFL seasons so far, has been more durable than Tagovailoa has been in his four seasons, appearing in 50 of the 51 regular season games Jacksonville has played since his arrival. Though Miami had Tagovailoa for all 17 regular season games last season, he missed multiple games in each of the prior three campaigns.
However, over the past three seasons (since Lawrence joined the league), Tagovailoa has thrown more touchdown passes with similar statistics to Lawrence in terms of interceptions and passing yardage. It would therefore seem that the Dolphins quarterback has a legitimate case to be paid in a similar ballpark.
