Tua 'Not Worried' About Next Contract

Quarterbacks from the 2020 draft have been getting some huge long-term contracts this year, and Tua Tagovailoa clearly has noticed.

Justin Herbert was the latest to sign, agreeing to a five-year extension worth $262.5 million that will kick in at the start of the 2025 season. Earlier this year, it was Tua's Alabama teammate Jalen Hurts who got major money, with a deal potentially worth $255 million.

If he can build on his 2022 breakout season, Tagovailoa himself will get a big pay day from the Miami Dolphins, but he just might have to wait a bit longer than his draft classmates.

And he says he's fine with that.

Tagovailoa is playing under the final year of his rookie contract and the Dolphins exercised his fifth-year option this offseason, guaranteeing him $23.2 million for 2024.

DOLPHINS' OPTIONS WITH TUA

The Dolphins could sign Tua to a long-term deal anytime now since he became eligible for an extension this offseason, though they might want to wait to make sure their quarterback's injury issues have faded — or even better disappeared.

The team conceivably could go as far as having Tua play on the fifth-year option in 2023 and then use the franchise tag on him in 2024, but they also could pull the trigger on a long-term, big-money deal at any time.

“I think regardless of what it is, if they wanted to do it now, if they wanted to wait, whatever; I think for myself I’m always a person that wants to prove to myself that I deserve whatever I get," Tagovailoa said. "So for me, I feel like this is something that I need to work for. It’s as plain and simple as that.”

Tagovailoa certainly put himself on a path to a big contract with his 2022 season when he led the NFL in passer rating (105.5) and found himself in the NFL MVP conversation when the Dolphins had an 8-3 record at the end of November.

GM Chris Grier said at the combine in March that the Dolphins were open to all options in terms of Tua's contract before the team exercised the fifth-year option long before the deadline to do so.

Tua, though, said he has heard nothing in terms of discussions for a long-term deal since then.

“I haven’t talked about any contract since what I’ve understood with my fifth-year extension," he said. "I don’t think that’s a worry of mine. When things come, they’ll come because you either deserved it or it’s supposed to happen that way.”

All that said, don't think Tua's eyes didn't get big when he saw the numbers first on Hurts' contract and then on Herbert's.

"I mean, it’s big," he said. "Big. First off, congrats to (Herbert) and congrats to Jalen as well earlier on his contract. I think it’s really good for the quarterback market. That’s what I would say. It’s really good for the quarterback market. It gets me excited, gets me going. But at the same time, they got what they deserve and I’m happy for them.”