Training camp participation will no longer be an issue for Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins quarterback has agreed to a four-year, $212.4MM extension, as first reported by Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. 
Many of the league’s QB mega-deals have been five years in length, making this extension slightly unique. It is the most expensive four-year investment in league history with an average annual value of $53.1MM, third highest amongst signal-callers. Rapoport adds Tagovailoa will receive $167.1MM guaranteed.
Given the 26-year-old’s injury history, questions have been raised this offseason regarding how much of a long-term commitment the Dolphins would be willing to make. Full details are not yet known, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports this deal is a three-year accord in terms of practical guarantees. As a result, Tagovailoa will be in place atop Miami’s QB depth chart through at least the 2027 campaign.
Team and player in this case expressed a desire in February for a deal to be worked out in relatively short order. Miami dealt with a number of other priorities in the months since, then, however, and talks continued through to this week. Tagovailoa was largely a non-participant in spring workouts, a departure from his normal offseason routine. The Alabama product made it clear he was acutely aware of the surging market value of quarterbacks on their second contracts, something which applies to him. Tagovailoa was already on the books for 2024 via his $23.17MM fifth-year option.
Using one or two franchise tags after this season would have been an option had the Dolphins taken a hardline stance at the negotiating table, but they have instead made a long-term commitment. Tagovailoa put up career highs in a number of categories in 2023, a campaign in which he crucially managed to remain healthy. He led the NFL in passing yards (4,624) and earned his first career Pro Bowl nod while helping the team to an 11-6 record and a postseason berth. Needless to say, expectations for a repeat of that success (and beyond) will be in place moving forward.
Miami inked receiver Jaylen Waddle to a $28.25MM-per-year deal this spring, and teammate Tyreek Hill is angling for a raise as well. Keeping that tandem in place while also retaining Tagovailoa in the fold has been an overarching goal for the organization during the offseason, one in which the likes of Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt departed via free agency. It remains to be seen what happens with Hill, but now Waddle and Tagovailoa’s futures have received clarity.
The latter rejected at least one extension offer prior to today’s blockbuster accord being finalized (something which came as little surprise considering Miami’s initial unwillingness to offer a market-value pact). A report from earlier this week indicated Tagovailoa and the Dolphins were not as close to working out a deal as Jordan Love and the Packers were. Instead, Miami has managed to get negotiations across the finish line before Green Bay. This deal will serve as another blueprint for the Packers and Love to follow with seven quarterbacks now occupying the $50MM-per-year club.
Tagovailoa reported to training camp on time, but he barely participated during the first day of practice. That was followed by a total on-field absence yesterday, a sign that an extended period of uncertainty regarding his availability could extend for days or longer. The former No. 5 pick took every first-team rep in Friday’s practice, though, a development which certainly makes sense given the fact a monster deal has now been agreed to.
Head coach Mike McDaniel has been in place for the past two years, having been hired in large part to maximize Tagovailoa’s potential. The pair have worked well together so far, and 2023’s productive (albeit inconsistent) showings on offense offered a glimpse of what could be possible down the road. Now, the McDaniel-Tagovailoa partnership will remain in place for the foreseeable future.