Among the first to congratulate Justin Jefferson on his record-shattering contract extension?
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who just two years ago was the one rewriting the wide receiver salary record book.
Contract Drama for Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill?
“JJettas that’s well deserved,” Hill wrote on X shortly after details of Jefferson’s four-year, $140 million extension was made public.
What he didn’t say, but what everyone believes to be true, is that Hill wants to get his — again — and the more the supercharged wide receiver market races past his old deal, the higher his sense of urgency becomes to make that happen.
“Let’s just say it’s safe to acknowledge that I’ve been in touch with Chris Grier and Brandon Shore of the Dolphins,” Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said to WSVN-7 in Miami on Sunday night.
“I certainly have a fluid line of communication with them, and I’ve shared with them how Tyreek feels. I’ll also reiterate that Tyreek has said that he would love to finish his career with the Dolphins. Without getting into any more specifics, the Dolphins know how we feel.”
Now that the Justin Jefferson deal is done, I spoke to Drew Rosenhaus about getting his client, Tyreek Hill, more money to put him back in line with the top-5 highest paid at his position. @DrewJRosenhaus saying, “ I have a fluid line of communication with Chris Grier and Brandon… pic.twitter.com/Gx53yj69Qv
— Josh Moser (@TheMozKnowz) June 3, 2024
But is that feeling mutual? There’s reason to believe that Hill has gotten all the money he’s going to get out of the Dolphins.
Hill is in Year 2 of the four-year, $120 million contract extension he signed in March 2022 after the Dolphins acquired him from the Kansas City Chiefs via trade.
The Chiefs allowed Hill to explore a trade that winter because he wanted a raise, and they weren’t willing to meet his asking price. Could history repeat itself three years later?
Certainly, Hill is very much part of the Dolphins’ plans in 2024. But it’s not at all hard to envision a scenario in which he’s playing his final season in Miami.
While Hill technically has three years left on his deal, there’s little chance the Dolphins pay him what that contract dictates his final season: A staggering $45 million in base salary with a $56.3 million cap figure.
So in reality, Hill has two years left on his current deal. He will earn $19.8 million in cash in 2024 (currently the 14th-most of all NFL wide receivers) and is scheduled to earn $22.9 million more (fourth) in 2025.
Hill certainly has an argument that he’s underpaid. No player has more receiving yards (3,509) since 2022, and he’s second in catches (238) to just CeeDee Lamb over that time.
But the Dolphins have real reasons to hold the line on Hill’s compensation.
After last week’s Jaylen Waddle extension, the Dolphins are projected to be $3.6 million over the salary cap in 2025 and currently have $229.7 million in 2026 cap obligations.
And those figures don’t reflect any new money they’re going to pay Tua Tagovailoa, who is in the final year of his rookie contract.
Put another way, the Dolphins can extend Tagovailoa, or they can extend Hill — but they cannot do both without significant cuts elsewhere.
And given the positions they play and Hill’s age (he’s 30, which is a dicey age for speed receivers), the Dolphins’ pick will almost certainly be to keep Tua and let Hill walk.
That breakup could come as soon as next winter, when — if Hill is insistent on getting more money — Miami could try to trade him to a team that will pay him what he wants.
So it’ll be an interesting week in Miami Gardens. The Dolphins are holding their three mandatory minicamp practices, and if Hill skips those like he has the two OTA (organized team activities) practices open to reporters this spring, it’ll be a flashing yellow warning sign.