Super Bowl or Bust: Tua Extension Turns Up the Heat on Dolphins

The talking heads will need to find something else to bloviate about because the waiting game is over — Tua Tagovailoa is staying in Miami after he and the Miami Dolphins agreed on a four-year contract extension valued at a franchise-record $212.4 million on Friday evening. The deal begins after this season, meaning Tagovailoa is under contract through 2028.

Tua and Miami are tied at the hip. Super Bowl or bust.

Tua Tagovailoa is signing a four-year, $212.4 million extension, per @AthletesFirst. pic.twitter.com/bVgj0q3gsO

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 26, 2024

The deal — of which $167 million is guaranteed — totals an average of $53 million annually, third in the NFL in quarterback pay behind Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. That's a lot of bread, but it's fair market value for Tua, who had his best and healthiest season as a pro in 2023, leading the league in passing yards.

For perspective, Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports points out that the contract is set to pay Tua more annually than Dan Marino made across his 17-year career combined. Inflation!

This is amazing. Dan Marino earned $51.51 million in total contract earnings during his 17-year career with the Miami Dolphins. https://t.co/c4aEikjTOY

— Jamey Eisenberg (@JameyEisenberg) July 26, 2024

For the Dolphins, the move to sign Tua is about stability, cohesiveness, and an all-in approach for the foreseeable future around a team quarterbacked by Tagovailoa and coached by Mike McDaniel. It's a bet on this era of Dolphins football. There isn't much room to pivot when your quarterback makes $50-plus million a year. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, he's our guy.

Tua is now the key cog in a core that could be locked up for quite some time. The roster remaining intact is far from a certainty, however, in this cutthroat, cap casualty world (just ask Xavien Howard).

Dolphins under contract thru

Tua Tagovailoa (2028)
Jaylen Waddle (2028)
Bradley Chubb (2027)
*Tyreek Hill (2026)
Terron Armstead (2026)
Austin Jackson (2026)
Zach Sieler (2026)
Jaelan Phillips (2025)
Jalen Ramsey (2025)
Jevon Holland (2024)
*$56.3 million cap hit

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) July 26, 2024

Not to harp on it, but the Dolphins have the NFL's longest active drought without a playoff win. The last postseason game they won was in 2000, and in the five playoff appearances they've made since, the team has been dispatched in the first round each time.

With McDaniel himself signed to a deal that takes him through the next two seasons in Miami, rest assured everyone involved is in the hot seat and expected to win playoff games, not September games. Owner Stephen Ross isn't getting any younger, and the time for feel-good Wild Card appearances has passed.

Most of all, Tua getting paid turns up the Bunsen burner on General Manager Chris Grier's seat. He's cooked up an all-time expensive meal with ingredients of his choice that better win multiple Michelin stars. If the first course in 2024 doesn't set the stage for the next, another chef could be on his way in to change up the menu.

Everyone in the Dolphins organization is on notice — Tua's contract is reason for celebration. Still, the pressure just ratcheted up on everyone from the training staff to Tagovailoa when it comes to delivering on the field.