Tua Tagovailoa Contract: Salary, Extension, Guaranteed Money

The Miami Dolphins have been widely panned as a team that could absolutely crash into a ditch in 2025. Mike McDaniel could be fired. Tua Tagovailoa’s career could become endangered by injury. 

Perhaps the offense will collapse on itself under the weight of its own underperformance and volatile personalities. 

But no matter how bad the Miami Dolphins odds get, they’re stuck with Tagovailoa for at least another year or two. The contract extension he was given in 2024 doesn’t have any obvious outs until at least 2027. 

Tua Tagovailoa Contract

In July 2024, Tua Tagovailoa signed a four-year contract extension worth $212.4 million. 

The first year of the extension kicked in for 2025 and currently runs through 2028. It includes several performance incentives which kick in when Tagovailoa plays at least 50% of the regular season snaps and he earns playoff wins:

• $250,000 for a Wild Card playoff win after playing at least 50% of regular-season snaps
• $500,000 for a Divisional playoff win after playing at least 50% of regular-season snaps
• $500,000 for winning the AFC after playing at least 50% of regular-season snaps
• $1 million for winning the Super Bowl after playing at least 50% of regular-season snaps

Tua Tagovailoa Salary

Tua Tagovailoa will make just over $51 million from his NFL contract in 2025. 

That money breaks down into $25,046,000 in base salary, plus an additional $25 million structured as an option bonus. The option was paid out in March. 

Tagovailoa can also receive $750,000 structured as a roster bonus, paid out in $44,117 increments for every game he is active. 

He also receives a $250,000 workout bonus.

Tua Tagovailoa Guaranteed Money

Tua Tagovailoa’s 2024 contract extension included $93,171,000 in guaranteed money. That money is made up of his $42 million signing bonus, plus his full salaries from 2024 and 2025. 

An additional $54 million – the vast majority of his 2026 salary – became guaranteed in March 2025. 

A large percentage of Tagovailoa’s future pay from 2027 and 2028 either isn’t guaranteed yet, or it will never become guaranteed. That structure of frontloaded guarantees is what makes it more realistic for the Dolphins to cut ties with him after 2026.