The Miami Dolphins have offloaded the majority of their top talent acquired under the previous Chris Grier-led regime. They are paying quarterback Tua Tagovailoa $54 million to not play for them this year. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was released as well. Fellow pass catcher Jaylen Waddle was traded to the Broncos. And all of this was after Miami shipped off edge rusher Jaelan Phillips prior to the 2025 trade deadline.
But the Dolphins didn't leave the cupboard completely bare. They didn't ship off electric running back De'Von Achane. They didn't move on from solid defensive starters Zach Seiler and Jordyn Brooks. And they didn't let go of their All-Pro star center, Aaron Brewer. Brewer is an especially interesting decision because he is an established veteran who is entering a contract year.
There is no doubt that had Miami made Brewer available, there would have been significant interest from other teams. Great centers are hard to come by. And Brewer played like the best center in the NFL last year. Offensive line guru Brandon Thorn certainly thought so.
Aaron Brewer was the league’s top weapon at center in space in 2025.
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) March 20, 2026
Here he is putting on a show x21 pic.twitter.com/PwLtXbY2O9
Brewer has more than outplayed the three-year, $21 million contract the Dolphins signed him to in 2024. He now enters the final year of that deal and is set to make just $7 million (10th most amongst centers in 2026). Given how well Brewer is playing and the fact that Miami decided to hold onto him headed into a contract year, it makes sense for the Dolphins to extend him.
Recently, our own Matt Fitzgerald made the case that the Dolphins should extend Brewer. But now the question is, "How much would it cost?"
Exploring Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer's extension value
Brewer has an impressive production profile. Last year, he allowed just 12 pressures over 15 games—a 2.32% pressure rate allowed. He allowed just one quarterback hit and one sack. And he did his best work as a run blocker, where he earned a 91.2 grade from Pro Football Focus. And that run block grade was fantastic in both zone (86.5) and gap schemes (86.8).
Using data from Pro Football Focus, here are the five closest comps to Brewer from centers who have signed contracts since 2020.
Player | Age | Snaps | Pressures Allowed | Pressure Rate Allowed | PFF Run Block Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaron Brewer (2025) | 28.8 | 856 | 12 | 2.32% | 91.2 |
Ethan Pocic (2022) | 28.1 | 819 | 10 | 2.17% | 78.9 |
Connor Williams (2023) | 27.3 | 497 | 6 | 2.14% | 90.5 |
Corey Linsley (2020) | 30.1 | 734 | 4 | 0.92% | 87.8 |
Andre James (2023) | 27.3 | 963 | 19 | 3.26% | 75.0 |
Ryan Kelly (2019) | 27.3 | 1,018 | 21 | 3.55% | 74.6 |
Brewer fairs well against the rest of the group in snaps (3rd), pressure rate allowed (4th), and run block grade (1st). The cap-adjusted average of those five players' contracts is $11.92 million. But the Williams comp (a function of close proximity in age, pressure rate allowed, and run block grade) isn't a great inclusion. A torn ACL in early December of 2023, along with other injuries, limited him to just nine games. Since the torn ACL happened late in the season, it had a significant impact on his contract in 2024.
Removing Williams from the dataset brings the cap-adjusted average of Brewer's comps to $13.71 million. That APY on an extension would make him the fourth-highest-paid center in the game. And that feels like the best landing spot for a deal. Three years at $13.67 million per year for a $41 million total with $21.5 million guaranteed. Those guarantees would cover the $7 million he's already owed for this season, plus one-third of the new cash flow.
The effective APY of the deal—that is, the APY when considering this year's cash flow as well as the new money over the entire four years of the total deal—would be $12 million. That's a completely reasonable price for premium play.
Evening Brewer's cash flows over the entire four years, as Miami did when they originally signed him in 2024, would give him a $5 million raise this year and take him from the 10th-highest paid center in 2026 cash flow to sixth. And it would only increase his 2026 cap hit by $1 million by prorating the additional money over the maximum five years. $9.5 million of his $12 million salary in 2027 would also be guaranteed. The overall structure of the deal would look like this.
Year | Base Salary | Previous Prorated Bonus | New Prorated Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Workout Bonus | Cap Number | Dead Money | Cap Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2026 | $1,215,000 | $3,227,000 | $1,000,000 | $510,000 | $25,000 | $5,947,000 | $30,015,000 | ($24,068,000) |
2027 | $11,465,000 | $3,227,000 | $1,000,000 | $510,000 | $25,000 | $16,227,000 | $23,113,000 | ($6,886,000) |
2028 | $11,465,000 | $3,227,000 | $1,000,000 | $510,000 | $25,000 | $16,227,000 | $9,386,000 | $6,841,000 |
2029 | $11,465,000 | $2,109,000 | $1,000,000 | $510,000 | $25,000 | $16,227,000 | $5,159,000 | $11,068,000 |
2030 | $11,465,000 | $1,050,000 | $1,000,000 | $510,000 | $25,000 | $16,227,000 | $2,050,000 | $14,177,000 |
This would keep Brewer locked in through 2027 with what effectively comes to team options in 2028 and 2029 after Miami has dealt with the dead cap ramifications of the release of Tua Tagovailoa and Bradley Chubb. And it helps Miami avoid the madness that can be free agency prices.
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