“Tagovailoa’s Contract Dilemma: Dolphins’ Hesitation Highlights Disrespect and Doubt”
MIAMI — The Miami Dolphins have consistently lacked full confidence and trust in Tua Tagovailoa over the past four years, and this uncertainty persists as he enters his fifth season.
This situation has been embarrassing for the franchise and insulting to the quarterback, with the entire NFL noticing the ongoing contractual standoff. Tagovailoa undoubtedly feels the disrespect.
Early in his career, instead of showing confidence in their 2020 first-round pick, the Dolphins secretly sought his replacement. They initially attempted to sign Deshaun Watson and later pursued Tom Brady, which resulted in a league penalty and the loss of a first-round draft pick for tampering.
Tagovailoa faced doubts about his future due to concussion issues, but last season was a turning point. He remained injury-free, played every game, and excelled with strong support from the ground game and elite receivers, despite a subpar offensive line.
He led the NFL in passing yards, threw a personal-best 29 touchdowns, and was named a Pro Bowl starter. It was his second consecutive season with a passer rating over 100, solidifying him as the starting quarterback the team had envisioned when they drafted him fifth overall.
Despite this, the Dolphins’ lack of faith in Tagovailoa has resurfaced during contract negotiations. This period was an opportunity for the team to demonstrate their belief in him, but they have failed to do so. Tagovailoa has expressed his disappointment over the lack of a deal, especially as other quarterbacks secure lucrative extensions.
“I’m not blind to people in my position getting paid,” he said over a month ago. He also admitted that separating football from the business side is challenging. “I just want to get something done,” he said candidly, describing his feelings as “antsy.”
With training camp approaching—rookies report next week and veterans on July 23—the lack of a contract extension has increased the likelihood of an ugly holdout from Tagovailoa.
The other top quarterbacks from the 2020 draft—Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Jalen Hurts—have already secured contract extensions, each valued between $51 million and $55 million per year (with Burrow at the upper end). These deals typically guarantee between 75% and 80% of the total value.
This is the standard for a top young quarterback you believe in, which is what Tagovailoa means by, “The market is the market.”
Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes, Herbert, Lamar Jackson, and Hurts are all members of the $50-million-a-year QB club. Tagovailoa should be the next to join, but the Dolphins are hesitating, including performance-based incentives due to lingering concerns about potential concussions.
Tagovailoa’s career passer rating of 97.1 is significantly higher than Lawrence’s 85.0, as is his 81-37 touchdown-to-interception ratio compared to Lawrence’s 58-39. Yet, Jacksonville rewarded Lawrence with a new deal, showing the faith and belief that Miami still lacks in Tua.
Miami general manager Chris Grier stated after last season that a contract extension for Tagovailoa was “a priority. ”The priority should be an extension that reflects fair market value, completed before training camp.
The fundamental question is: Do the Miami Dolphins, after four years, finally have full faith and belief in this quarterback?
Embarrassingly, their negotiations so far fail to provide a positive answer.
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