Examining Tua Tagovailoa's Contract and Impact on Dolphins' Salary Cap if Released

The Miami Dolphins risk setting an NFL record for dead money cap charges if they release Tua Tagovailoa after reportedly benching the quarterback in favor of rookie backup Quinn Ewers.

Cutting Tagovailoa before June 1 would cost the Dolphins $99 million in dead money, according to Over the Cap and ESPN's Adam Schefter.

That would beat out the Denver Broncos' $85 million charge for cutting Russell Wilson as the largest dead money hit in NFL history, per ESPN.

Waiting until June 1 to cut Tagovailoa would still cost the Dolphins $67.4 million in dead money next season, per Over the Cap.

Cutting him after June 1, 2026 would leave the Dolphins on the hook for $31.8 million in dead money in 2027, per Schefter.

Tagovailoa is currently signed through 2028. He has $54 million in guaranteed salary remaining on his deal, a number which climbs to $57 million on March 15, per Over the Cap.

Tagovailoa's reported benching comes 14 games into the first season under the four-year, $212 million extension he signed ahead of the 2024 campaign.

The salary cap for the 2026 season is estimated at about $295 million per team, meaning it would cost the Dolphins about a third of their cap in order to cut Tagovailoa's contract as currently structured.

That seems especially unlikely considering that the Dolphins already rank sixth in the NFL with more than $34 million in dead money charges on the books for 2026, per Over the Cap.

That's mainly due to charges lingering from the franchise's decision to part ways with players including Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey and Jaelan Phillips. It's a large part of the reason the Dolphins rank 29th in effective cap space heading into 2026, per Over the Cap.

Even finding a way to trade Tagovailoa wouldn't get the Dolphins out of taking on more dead money by moving on from him.

A post-June 1 trade would still leave Miami on the hook for $13.4 million in dead money next season, per Over the Cap, and it seems possible the Dolphins would have to eat at least part of the quarterback's remaining contract in order to make him an attractive trade target.

The Dolphins are set to get their first extended look at what they have in Ewers if the 2025 seventh-round pick steps in to make his first NFL start on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

How Ewers performs over the last three games of the season could potentially influence how the Dolphins approach their quarterback situation going forward.

Whatever the Dolphins' decision regarding Tagovailoa, however, it looks like former general manager Chris Grier's decision to extend the quarterback last summer will continue restricting the franchise's salary cap for the near future.