After missing the first voluntary workouts, Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane showed up ahead of the draft to get work in. A leadership move that others will look up to. It's a win for the Dolphins, who get their star offensive player on the field, and it will be a win for the RB when he gets paid.
One of the top NFL salary cap sites, Spotrac, is predicting a huge payday for Achane, and frankly, he deserves it. The question is, will it come in above or below their predictions?
Coming off of a career year (1,838 scrimmage yards, 12 TDs) and entering a contract season, #Dolphins RB Devon Achane currently projects toward a 4 year, $59M extension according to Spotrac's model.https://t.co/FCnmzzKA0s
— Spotrac (@spotrac) April 17, 2026
Miami Dolphins negotiations with De'Von Achane will come down to his salary ceiling, not the floor
Achane did indeed have a career season in 2025, and there is no reason to believe his production will drop in 2026, even with all the changes to the offense. When a player is good, they succeed no matter how different a team looks.
What Sullivan and Brandon Shore need to figure out is what the baseline of Achane's extension will be. The ceiling isn't the number to keep an eye on because those are always inflated. Miami could give him $100 million over four years, but if the guaranteed money is only $30 million and the deal is backloaded with non-guaranteed numbers, it won't matter what the optics are.
Spotrac sees Achane getting a sizable amount of money for his position. They put his annual earnings at $14 million per season. Others believe his annual will fall between $11 million and $13 million. If the $14 is where he lands, it's in elite company.
Only six players earn more than $14 million currently. Saquon Barkley ($20.6), Christian McCaffrey ($19), Derrick Henry ($15), Kenneth Walker ($14.3), Breece Hall ($14.2), and Jonathan Taylor ($14).
Should Achane be the next $14 million running back? As we said before, some see his contract as more in line with what the Bills gave James Cook last offseason. He averages $11.5 million a season under his deal.
Again, it's the guaranteed money that is important here. While Ashton Jeanty carries just over $8 million in average salary annually, he has the 2nd-most guaranteed money behind Barkley, at $35.8 million. Cook has $30 million. They are the only three who have been guaranteed more than $30. Chances are, Achane is going to break into that group when his contract is done.
The Dolphins have made it clear that Achane's NFL future is in Miami, but he is going to have to dig deeper than he may want to get that deal done.