Inside Tua Tagovailoa's $212M Dolphins Contract, Injury Guarantees After Concussion

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered the third concussion of his NFL career on Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills, which once again brought his long-term future under the spotlight.

The signal-caller signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract with Miami this offseason, and Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac broke down the details of the deal depending on what is next for Tagovailoa:

Of note, he still has $124 million of the $167 million in guarantees remaining. He would forfeit that money unless there was a customized settlement if he decided to retire while being medically cleared to play.

However, he would get to collect all of it if he was not medically cleared to play and forced into retirement.

It was a scary scene on the field given Tagovailoa's history. He went head-first into Bills safety Damar Hamlin after taking off running on a fourth-down play, and it was immediately clear something was wrong.

He ended up walking off the field and to the locker room under his own power.

Tagovailoa played all 17 games last season but suffered two confirmed concussions in 2022. One of them came early in the season when a hit against the Cincinnati Bengals forced him to leave the field on a stretcher.

That it came just four days after he remained in the game after another hard hit against the Bills led to some criticism.

He also suffered a concussion during a Week 16 game against the Green Bay Packers, although it wasn't revealed until the following day and after he remained in the contest. He was then placed in concussion protocol and missed the remainder of the season.

As for Thursday's injury, Miami turned to Skylar Thompson after Tagovailoa left and will likely continue to do so until the starter can return. The team's next game isn't until Sept. 22 against the Seattle Seahawks.