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Report: Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins Agree to $30.28M Contract with $19.6M Bonus
May 11, 2020
The Miami Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa agreed to a four-year, $30.3 million contract Monday, which includes a $19.6 million signing bonus.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported terms of the deal, which is fully guaranteed.
The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in April's draft. Expected by many to be the No. 1 overall selection coming into his junior season, Tagovailoa's career at Alabama abruptly ended when he suffered a dislocated and fractured hip in a November win over Mississippi State.
While his long-term health is paramount, Tagovailoa looks like a good bet to begin the 2020 season as the Dolphins' starting quarterback.
"I'll say my kids are expecting him (to start)," coach Brian Flores said. "They're big fans. They were excited to get on the phone call with him. But, look, we haven't even seen him, obviously, with the pandemic and all that's going on. Our doctors haven't seen him, so we've a long way to go before we can say who's doing what. We'd like to just get him and have a meeting first.
"I think it's way too early to speculate on this year and how this is going to go. You guys know we like to take a one-day-at-a-time approach anyway. That's going to be the approach I'm going to have him take as well."
Tagovailoa threw for 7,442 yards and 87 touchdowns against 11 interceptions during his collegiate career. He was on pace to set the single-season passing efficiency mark in 2019 before the injury.
If Tagovailoa needs to come along more slowly, the Dolphins have veteran Ryan Fitpatrick in place, who can adequately fill in until Tua is ready to take over.
Should he stay healthy, Tagovailoa looks like a can't-miss quarterback prospect who the Dolphins should be able to make the face of their franchise.