Is Tua Tagovailoa really the man for the Dolphins?

After four years and moderate success in the NFL, Tua Tagovailoa is still receiving mixed reviews across the league. The Miami Dolphins and Tagovailoa agreed on Friday to a four-year, $212.4M extension with $167.1M guaranteed.

Tagovailoa had an outstanding 2023 campaign, passing for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and completing 69.3 percent of his throws. These were career highs as Tagovailoa played all 17 games for the first time and led the Dolphins to 11 wins alongside his first Pro Bowl selection.

Was that really enough to warrant this massive contract extension? Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love also got an extension. Love’s deal is worth $220M over four years with a $75M signing bonus (largest in NFL history), placing him on the same level as Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow as the highest-paid quarterbacks per year at $55M.

All that for Love after one miraculous season starting for the Packers which included a wild card playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys. While it’s only been one year for Love so some might say Green Bay is gambling, Tagovailoa does have a larger body of work.

One encouraging thing about Tagovailoa that should not be overlooked is his improvement over each of his first four years in the league. His yards, touchdowns and wins have all gone up from year to year thus far.

"I really had a front-row seat to Tua and his growth and development as a player, and just as a teammate, a leader, all that…It's been cool to watch. I feel like, in a way, we kinda had similar stories," former Dolphin Christian Wilkins said about Tagovailoa’s growth.

Despite getting better each year, Tagovailoa only has one remarkable season under his belt. But these QB contracts are all about comparisons and who signed before you. The one player who will be compared with Tagovailoa for however long they play is Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Herbert got his extension one year ago signing for five years and $262.5M with $133.7M in guarantees . Tagovailoa’s overall deal isn’t quite as much as Herbert’s, but the Dolphins QB got a larger guarantee and one less year. So Tagovailoa will be up for another massive contract sooner than his counterpart.

What it comes down to in the NFL now is timing. Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are working on his extension after seeing what Tagovailoa and Love just got, he should be smiling from ear to ear.

Prescott may not have a ton of playoff triumphs, but he’s been money in the regular season throughout most of his career. Players make their money off regular season accomplishments and cement their legacy in the postseason.

Thus far, Tagovailoa seems to have figured out the regular season and getting paid part of the equation. Of course, he’ll need to continue improving, but his next mountain to climb will be achieving playoff success.

As for now, Tagovailoa falls into the same category as many of today’s NFL QBs. Your worth on the field is measured by whatever a franchise is willing to pay you. Whether anyone outside those walls agrees is irrelevant.