The market is the market, as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said last week.
And his market is looking more and more like a record-breaker.
News Thursday that the Jacksonville Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence have agreed to a five-year, $275 million extension (with a record-tying $55 million AAV) certainly helped Tua’s bargaining position in his quest for his own long-term extension.
How Trevor Lawrence Deal Impacts Tua Tagovailoa Contract Talks
Lawrence’s topline figures, per NFL media, match that of Joe Burrow’s contract, making them the two highest-paid players in league history. (Burrow’s deal does include $19 million more guaranteed than Lawrence’s $200 million.)
And given how favorably Tagovailoa’s body of work compares to that of Lawrence, he has zero incentive to take a dime less. In fact, he might look to reset the market, if even slightly.
In his career, Tagovailoa has a higher winning percentage (.627 to .400), a higher completion percentage (66.9 to 63.8), plus a far higher yards-per-attempt average (7.7 to 6.7) and passer rating (97.1 to 85).
Other than durability concerns, there’s absolutely no reason why Tagovailoa should be worth less than Lawrence.
And he knows it.
Tagovailoa is already miffed that talks have dragged out this long with no resolution, and his low-drama minicamp hold-in could become a full-blown training camp holdout if this doesn’t get done in the next six weeks.
MORE: Trevor Lawrence’s Contract Details: Jaguars QB Signs $275 Million Deal
While holdouts have become obsolete with the new CBA, which mandates hundreds of thousands in fines for players who don’t show, quarterback is the one position where it could make sense to do them.
Tua might be OK with a million dollars lost this year if it means an extra $20 million over the life of a new contract.
And as he made clear last week, he has zero interest in taking a hometown discount.
Tagovailoa’s Contract Comments
Here’s what Tua said during his only press conference of the spring.
Did you think there’d be more contract progress at this point?
“Well, I think there’s been a lot of progress at this point. From where we started, there’s been a lot of progress. Now, you can ask the other question: ‘Then why aren’t we seeing an agreement?’ Well, that’s the tough part about it – that’s why it’s business. That’s why you’ve got one side and the other trying to work to meet in the middle.”
Do you view those numbers that others get around the league as benchmarks for your negotiations, like Jared Goff getting $53 million per year?
“I’ll tell you one thing; the market is the market. If we didn’t have a market, then none of that would matter. It would just be an organizational thing. It didn’t matter if that guy got paid that because it’s up to the organization. So that’s what I would say – the market is the market. That’s it.”
Are you confident that a deal will get done before training camp?
“I’m confident that a deal will get done. But then again, it’s not in my control. It’s really up to both sides meeting in the middle with this.”
You’re a passionate and emotional guy. Is it difficult for you to separate the two things out there?
“Yeah, 100%, 100%. For people that talk about business is different than personal, sure, I can agree to some extent. But who you are as a person, for what you do business and personal, is who you are with how you do everything. That’s how I see it. That’s just how I look at it. And if not, if you can be two different people at once, hey, by all means, you can do that. But to me, that’s just not how I am.”
Are you frustrated with where things stand right now?
“Not frustrated, I’m another word.”
Agitated? Annoyed? Bothered?
(Long pause, followed by a big Tua smile)
“How about that pause? I’m just wanting to get something done. That’s it. Just wanting to get something done.”
Concerned? Is that…?
“Not concerned. Concerned is not the right word. That’s way off from the word.”
FREE: Subscribe to PFN’s NFL Newsletter
Antsy maybe?
“Probably antsy.”
Pissed off?
“I wouldn’t say pissed off. I mean, this is the nature of the beast, right? This is how it goes.”