MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The ink was barely dry on Tua Tagovailoa’s four-year, $212.4 million contract extension when the Miami Dolphins‘ first open practice of 2024 began.
The pro-Tua crowd was ready to celebrate, and Tagovailoa did his part.
“Show me the money!” Tagovailoa bellowed into the microphone in a makeshift pre-practice pep rally.
Contract Details for Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
The Dolphins absolutely did.
The terms of Tagovailoa’s contract are out, and he will make a ton of money over the next three years (including bonuses): $43.1 million in 2024, $51 million in 2025, and $55 million in 2026.
Tua Tagovailoa: “Show me the money!” pic.twitter.com/qtOKIbr06l
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) July 28, 2024
Granted, that’s the market value of a quarterback of Tagovailoa’s stature. But it’s also remarkable, considering how far he’s come in such a short period of time.
When Mike McDaniel took over as Dolphins head coach in early 2022, Tagovailoa’s confidence was shot. He had been beaten down by injuries, uneven performance, and a coaching staff that wanted to run him out of town.
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McDaniel rebuilt him almost from scratch. So the massive extension should be as much a celebration of McDaniel as it is Tua.
“It’s one of the absolute main reasons you get into coaching,” McDaniel said. “You hope that you can help people realize their best selves. For him to be at this point of his journey, his growth, that’s why you do what you do.”
The contract changes more than Tua’s life. It changes his expectations. His failures will be magnified — which McDaniel acknowledges will come with the territory.
“It’s a pretty hot place to be a QB in the NFL,” McDaniel said. “You get a lot of reps at seeing how people respond to things. I think that is absolutely the nature that you should expect, and something that I know that Tua is very, very aware of. … They already have pressure and expectations for themselves. .. Tua’s shown me that, throughout the entire offseason, he knows what time it is. ”
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Same goes for McDaniel, whose Dolphins’ career unquestionably tied to Tagovailoa’s success.
“I feel really good about the team, I feel really good about Tua, and I will always be determined by the success or failure of the team, as it should be,” McDaniel said.
“It’s black and white, your success or failure. It’s cool about sports. A lot of variables in that, but that’s not something you run from. You embrace it because you worry about what you can control. When things you can’t control happen, you adjust from there and keep it moving.
“… You have to win and be successful, and I knew that the very first day I got the job. Whatever is coming with whatever narrative doesn’t really bother me.”