Tua Tagovailoa ‘antsy’ about contract situation: ‘Just want to get something done’

The Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are working on a contract extension that would keep the Pro Bowl quarterback in South Florida for the next several years. Currently slotted to play on the final year of his rookie contract, the two sides have been in negotiations throughout the offseason, continuing into this week’s veteran minicamp. Tagovailoa, who missed some of the team’s voluntary offseason training program events, was in attendance on Tuesday and spoke to the media, with his contract situation a major focal point.

“I’m not blind to people that are in my position that are getting paid,” Tagovailoa said when asked about other quarterbacks receiving new contracts this year. “Am I concerned about it? I’m not concerned about it, but there’s a lot of discussion that we’ve had that we just are trying to move that thing into the right direction where we can both be happy.”

The 2024 offseason included several quarterbacks landing lucrative new contracts, either as a free agent or as an extension with their current team. Included in those deals were the Detroit Lions and Jared Goff agreeing on a new, four-year, $212 million extension and the Atlanta Falcons signing Kik Cousins in free agency to a four-year, $180 million contract. Goff’s deal makes him the second-highest quarterback in terms of average per year salary, trailing Joe Burrow, who signed a five-year, $275 million extension at the start of the 2023 season. Cousins’ deal ranks him eighth, behind the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert ($52.5 million/year), the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson ($52M/yr), the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts ($51M/yr), the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray ($46.1M/yr), and the Cleveland Browns’ Deshaun Watson ($46M/yr). Cousins is tied with the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes at $45 million per year.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Tagovailoa’s contract will likely land him somewhere in those top ten salaries. Where exactly? “I’ll tell you one thing; the market is the market,” Miami’s quarterback stated. “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.”

He went on to explain that, while he is aware that talks are happening, he is not monitoring every minute detail of the situation. “My agent updates me, but for me, I don’t like updates every time,” he said. “Like you don’t got to tell me the little things, just tell me things that matter. Are we getting to where we want to or are we not? That’s it.”

Tagovailoa threw for a league-high 4,624 yards in 2023, with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, on a 69.3 completion rate. He had a 101.5 passer rating, a year after leading the league with a 105.5 passer rating. He was selected as the Pro Bowl starter for the AFC after the 2023 season, his first selection to the all-star event.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

The discussions between Miami and Tagovailoa’s camp have seemed to drag on this offseason, with many analysts expressing concern that a new contract has not been signed already. Asked if he thought there would be more progress in the negotiations than there have been at this point, Tagovailoa replied that there has been more progress than maybe people realize. However, Tagovailoa reassured, saying, “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.”

When asked if he was confident a new deal would be completed before training camp opens in July, Tagovailoa expressed his optimism, though he did not expressly say the deal would have to be done by the start of camp, stating, “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.”

Tagovailoa was asked a series of questions, trying to find the right word to describe his feelings about the negotiation process. “Not frustrated, I’m another word,” he replied after the first suggestion.

“I just want to get something done, that’s it. Just want to get something done,” he answered when asked if agitated, annoyed, or bothered were the right word.

“Not concerned,” he stated. “Concerned is not the right word. That’s way off from the word.”

Asked if he was pissed off about the process, he replied. “I wouldn’t say pissed off. I mean, this is the nature of the beast, right? This is how it goes.”

He finally seemed to agree to a word, responding, “Probably antsy.”

Tagovailoa was asked if he finds it difficult to separate the business and personal as a “passionate and emotional” player. He replied, “Yeah, 100 percent, 100 percent. 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.”

In other contract negotiations, the Dolphins and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle recently agreed to an extension. Asked about his reaction to that deal, Tagovailoa explained he and several other players all messaged Waddle immediately. “I was excited. I texted him. We all texted each other – Jalen Ramsey, Terron Armstead, ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill). We all texted each other in a group chat congratulating him.”

Asked about the group chat, Tagovailoa laughed, saying, “I mean, those guys are hilarious, I’ll tell you. But I’m happy for my boy.”

The Dolphins’ minicamp runs through Thursday. The team will then break until the end of July, when training camp opens.