Details are out on Tua Tagovailoa’s contract extension with Miami Dolphins

I’m not sure if you’ve heard yet, but the Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa agreed to a contract extension, as first reported by Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, for a total of $212.4 million with a new-money average of $53.1 million.

Tons of speculation surrounded how much there would be in guarantees and when the Dolphins could have a potential out in the contract.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk was the first to dive into the details and reported that the practical guarantees in the contract were settled at $147.2 million through 2026, including a $42 million signing bonus and $2 million in incentives between 2025 and 2026.

According to Spotrac, there $93.17 million is guaranteed at signing. This includes a $42 million signing bonus, a $1 million 2024 base salary, a $25 million 2025 base salary, and a $25 million roster bonus.

There’s a $54 million 2026 base salary guaranteed in March of 2025 and injury guaranteed at signing.

The potential out for the Dolphins in the contract comes after the 2026 season. At that point, Tagovailoa would’ve collected around $152 million over the first three years, with a dead cap of $19.8 million left on his contract if he’s cut before March 2027.

In the meantime, the extension lowers Tagovailo’s cap hit from his fifth-year option number of $23 million down to $9 million, creating $14 million in 2024 cap space, increasing the Dolphins cap space to $23 million, as reported by Barry Jackson.

This newfound money could get a deal done with other Dolphins players coming down the pipeline or an unexpected deal like the Tyreek Hill trade a few years ago.

Here’s how the contract shakes out using Spotrac, with the total money Tagovailoa would make each year and what the cap hit would be for the Dolphins.

• 2024: $43.125 million / $9 million
• 2025: $51.046 million / $59.446 million
• 2026: $55 million / $63.4 million
• Dolphins potential out – $19.8 million dead cap before March 2027
• 2027: $37 million / $45.4 million
• 2028: $49.4 million / $57.8 million

Those are the nuts and bolts of the contract, besides the incentives that are all over a contract with playtime and playoff wins. In 2029, if a new deal isn’t reached, Tagovailoa would become an unrestricted free agent and could cash out while he’s still on the young of thirty at thirty-one years old.

Also, something to keep in mind is that the Dolphins could restructure some of those big cap hits into bonuses, and even if that doesn’t happen, those cap hits wouldn’t exceed 22% of the projected total salary cap, which is the median of top ten quarterbacks.

With this deal, the Dolphins keep their franchise quarterback focused and ready for the season with an out after three years, and Tagovailoa gets to collect $150 million by that time.

That looks like a win-win in my eyes.