MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa has had his time for pay. It’s now time to play — and to win big.
By awarding Tagovailoa his four-year, $212.4 million contract extension — the largest in franchise history — the Miami Dolphins reaffirmed that they believe Tua can lead the team to the Super Bowl. But if he doesn’t, he can expect criticism from the media and fan base.
On Sunday, speaking with reporters for the first time since putting pen to paper, Tagovailoa didn’t duck that reality.
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailaoa on Record Contract
“Heavy is the crown,” Tagovailoa said. “So whoever’s wearing that … Like right now, I’m the highest-paid employee in this [building]. I gotta get my whatever together. I gotta get that right and get our guys moving in the direction that we need to go, you know, to be able to do those things.”
More from Tagovailoa on the subject: “We haven’t won the games that we wanted to win, get deep into the playoffs, win the games that matter. I could have had the worst passer rating [in 2023]. I could have threw for 1,000 yards.
“But if we were in those games and we were winning those big-time games and we got to go and [won] the championship, I mean, I’d trade all of that. I’d trade all of that for that.”
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Tagovailoa’s comments during a packed Sunday news conference, attended by his wife Annah and two children, his three most important coaches (Mike McDaniel, Frank Smith, and Darrell Bevell), general manager Chris Grier, and Dolphins contract negotiator Brandon Shore.
During the 20-minute Q&A, Tagovailoa declined to get into details about how the at-times contentious negotiations got past the finish line, but suggested strongly that McDaniel’s internal support of Tua helped get it done.
Tua Tagovailoa speaks after signing the biggest contract in Miami Dolphins history pic.twitter.com/qf2LdD7jb8
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) July 28, 2024
“I’ve been told from several birdies that are here in the facility, that are upstairs as well, that he went to bat for me. … He went to bat for me with our owner.”
Tagovailoa added: “The whole process, I’m sure, for everyone, both sides, had to be mentally draining. There’s just so many gymnastics that you have to go through. It’s not just, ‘Here’s the money, this is what we can do. We’re gonna do that.’
“We’re talking big, big amounts of money. So I thought that was super cool and the receivers, I went into the receiver room, it was a party.”
“… It’s not as easy as, ‘Here, let’s just throw a million dollars over here, let’s just give you this number over here.’ There’s just so many semantics and hoops that you gotta go through, you know, to, to get something like that done, especially trying to, you know, maneuver other contracts around.
“There’s just so many, many things that you gotta go through. But I’m happy that we got this thing done. It’s unbelievable.”