Salty Tua is, in the opinion of many, the best Tua. This offseason, some of that salt could be directed to the front office, if a decision is made to delay the negotiation of a new contract with the Miami quarterback.
Last year, the Dolphins picked up the fifth-year option on Tua Tagovailoa’s rookie contract. It gives him a fully-guaranteed salary of $23.171 million for 2024, with no security in 2025 or beyond.
Last year, Tua didn’t clamor for a new contract, even as other quarterbacks taken at the top of the 2020 draft (Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert) got massive second deals. And while Tua started every game and led the NFL in passing yards with 4,624 this season, the Dolphins sputtered down the stretch, and beyond a Christmas Eve win over the Cowboys failed to beat a “good” team all year.
From Miami’s perspective, the first question is whether to make a long-term commitment and the second question is the price of it. What’s fair and appropriate for Tua for a long-term deal? With the market at $55 million per year, does Tua get $30 million? $35 million?
What would happen if he were available to any other team? Would they clamor? Or would there be crickets?
For Miami, the approach might be to make a good but not great multi-year offer, and to see whether he takes it. If he doesn’t, they’ll have the franchise tag for 2025. Or they could use the transition tag, at a lower one-year number while also preserving the right to match any offer.
The Dolphins also could let him hit the open market and see what happens. Really, what would happen?
Much of that depends on what happens next year. Can he stay healthy for a second straight season? Can the Dolphins get farther than the first round? That’s information the Dolphins might need before breaking the bank for a player who possibly has a hard ceiling on how far he can take a team.