Miami Dolphins, Tagovailoa agree to terms on rookie contract
The Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa have reached an agreement on the framework of the star quarterback’s rookie contract, the Miami Herald has confirmed.
The terms, first reported by ESPN: Four years, $30.3 million. The fully-guaranteed contract includes a $19.6 million signing bonus and a fifth-year team option that would be guaranteed in the case of injury.
The Dolphins have shown great urgency to lock down their rookies, and in the past week have hammered out contracts with five of their 11 draft picks.
These deals are far easier to reach than in previous generations because of the league’s rookie wage scale. Christian Wilkins, the team’s first-round pick in 2019, agreed to terms on May 9 last year. The Dolphins have not had a first-round pick hold out of training camp since Ryan Tannehill in 2012.
Tagovailoa becomes the highest-drafted rookie to agree to terms in 2020. The only other first-round pick to strike a deal so far is Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who went seventh.
With an annual salary of just $7.6 million, Tagovailoa is a steal. He becomes just the seventh highest-paid Dolphin, behind Byron Jones, Xavien Howard, Kyle Van Noy, Ereck Flowers, Shaq Lawson and DeVante Parker.
Tagovailoa’s contract includes cap obligations of $5.5 million this season, $6.9 million in 2021, $8.3 million in 2022 and $9.6 million in 2023.
Tagovailoa was a strong contender to be the first pick of the 2020 draft before suffering a significant hip injury that caused him to slide to the Dolphins at 5. That injury cost him as much as $5.7 million, most of which in the form of a signing bonus. No. 1 pick Joe Burrow’s rookie deal is expected to come in at four years, $36 million.
Still, it’s a big chunk of change, and he’s already spent some of that money on his mother Diane.
Tagovailoa revealed Sunday that bought a Cadillac Escalade, with an MSRP starting at $75,000, for mom for Mother’s Day.
Tua posted the video of the SUV reveal — replete with a big red bow on the hood — on Twitter late Sunday with the caption: “Happy Mother’s Day to a more than deserving Mother. I love you mom.”
The Tagovailoas are a famously close group. The family moved to Tuscaloosa after Tua enrolled at the University of Alabama and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they will follow him to South Florida whenever it’s safe for them to move.
After the Dolphins took Tagovailoa with the fifth pick in the 2020 draft, word spread that his little brother Taulia was entering the transfer portal and there are rumors that he will end up at FIU.
Miami Herald sports writer Barry Jackson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 2:05 PM.
