The Miami Dolphins have signed their big fish of the 2020 NFL Draft — formalizing their contract with the No. 5 overall selection, Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa is presumably the Dolphins’ answer at the quarterback position, an area of the team that has tortured the Dolphins on and off over the course of the last twenty years. But, for the second time in that span, they’ve made the big investment with a 1st-round pick at quarterback and are betting big on the star power of Tagovailoa to turn around their team fortunes.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins have reportedly agreed to terms on a 4-year, $30.275M contract.
Done deal: the Dolphins have agreed to terms with QB Tua Tagavailoa on a four-year, $30,275,438 deal with a fifth-year team option.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 11, 2020
What’s more? NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Miami’s deal with Tagovailoa is fully guaranteed. No matter what happens from here, Miami and Tagovailoa are locked and loaded for the next four seasons — plus a fifth if the team opts to exercise their team option for a final season as a 1st-round selection. And, based on the new 5th-year option stipulations in the renewed collective bargaining agreement, an additional fifth season for Tagovailoa will likely end up running $25M or more in a few seasons if his play warrants such a commitment.
This is a significant investment for the Dolphins — the big bet that the team’s rebuild may ultimately hinge on when things are all said and done. If the team can keep Tagovailoa healthy, paying out $30M over four seasons (or effectively $55M+ over five) will go down as a steal relative to the top prices for quarterbacks these days. That’s the key for Miami. They now have a quarterback on a rookie contract — now they must transition into a winner in order to make the most of it before their next investment in Tagovailoa is required down the road.