MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The No. 1 priority for Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins at this point is to get him healthy.
If it takes two weeks or if it takes two years, and Tagovailoa and his family want him to play again, Tagovailoa should not see the field again until all of the doctors say he should. And if that day never happens, he shouldn’t return to the field, no matter the impact of Tagovailoa’s contract.
What Happens to Tua Tagovailoa’s Contract if He Never Plays Again?
Still, at some point the Dolphins need to figure out what’s next — both in the short term and long term.
They have more than enough cap space ($23.6 million, per the NFLPA) to sign Ryan Tannehill or any other available free agent quarterback to help them get through the year.
But that would just be a short-term fix for a long-term problem. Tagovailoa’s contract — signed just a few weeks back — includes many injury protections that would trigger if he is not cleared to play ever again.
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.4 million extension that included $167.2 million guaranteed, including $132.2 million fully guaranteed.
The only way that Tagovailoa doesn’t see the full amount of that last (and probably the middle) number is if the Dolphins clear him to play but he still elects to retire.
And even if that happens, the Dolphins are still almost certainly never going to get back the $42 million signing bonus they awarded him when he agreed to the contract. If Tagovailoa is cleared to play but still retires in the offseason, that cap charge would accelerate and result in a $34 million or so cap hit in 2025.
But if the inverse happens — Tagovailoa wants to play but the Dolphins and NFL don’t let him — it could trigger an insanely large cap hit that would make it impossible for the Dolphins to field a competitive team.
Tagovailoa has a base salary of $1.1 million and a $93.2 million dead cap figure if they cut him in 2024, $25 million and $83.6 million in 2025, and $25 million and $45.2 million in 2026.
That’s because Tagovailoa’s agent Ryan Williams wisely crafted a contract that both gave the Dolphins maximum financial flexibility but also protected his client should something truly awful happen.
Certainly, the two sides theoretically could reopen negotiations and change the terms of a contract if it’s clear Tagovailoa is never healthy enough to play again.
it’s just hard to see his motivation to do that.
“Right now it’s more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said late Thursday. “The furthest thing from my mind is ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate, and I’m just worried about my teammate like the rest of the guys are. But we’ll get more information tomorrow and then take it day by day from there.”