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Miami Dolphins set a new precedent for contracts with Xavien Howard deal

By Brian Miller

DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 22: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates his interception during the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on November 22, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 22: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates his interception during the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on November 22, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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The Miami Dolphins did not have to do anything for Xavien Howard and now that deal is done, a new precedent has been set. How will the Dolphins handle future contracts with other players? Will this be the benchmark that is used to determine those players that outplay their current deals?

If we look strictly at what the Dolphins have done with Howard this year, it wouldn’t seem like they set anything they will regret later. In fact, as it relates to this year, the Dolphins really didn’t do much to make Howard happy.

  • $1 million Pro Bowl bonus
  • New play incentives that near $3.5 million if reached
  • $500,000 per game incentive (if he is healthy he gets it)
  • Workout bonus and the elimination of mandatory off-season camps he missed

Those incentives, if reached will put him at $16.2 million this year and that makes him, again, the highest-paid corner in the league.

As this relates to future contracts, there shouldn’t be an issue.

The Dolphins are putting the bonuses on Howard’s play and health. It’s an easy change in language on the current deal to give him reason to play at his best and if he doesn’t, he won’t get paid.

The language in this new restructure is also good for the Dolphins and Howard in 2022 as we discussed earlier today. Howard gets $6 million guaranteed immediately for next year, he previously had no guaranteed money. He will get his salary fully guaranteed on the first day of the 2022 league new year, and it is guaranteed fully should he suffer a major injury.

All of that is a good precedent to set and in the future, the Dolphins should have no problem rewarding players that outplay their deals, even only after two seasons. These incentives are simple and let’s face it, as for 2022, the Dolphins would have likely paid him that anyway if he played well this year.

Things go a little differently for the Dolphins with a single caveat to all of this. That “precedent” we talked about above? While it won’t come into play this year, the Dolphins have assured Howard that they will go to the table in February or March of next season to work out a new contract.

That would be after year three which may be a little more palatable but still, it’s a big precedent to set if, in fact, they renegotiate his deal. For now, they don’t have to look that far ahead and can concentrate on winning in 2021. Next year, there is going to be a lot of Xavien Howard talk leading up to the start of the year but it will be interesting to see if Howard will be willing to play on his fully guaranteed contract of $12.7 million in 2022 if a new deal isn’t ironed out before hand.

Of course, if Howard has a bad season in 2021 or gets hurt and misses games, they probably won’t return to the negotiating table and let 2022 ride out as it is currently written.

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