Tua Tagovailoa’s contract incentives are a major win for Dolphins GM Chris Grier

It turns out Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier may have known what he was doing from the start. Grier waited much longer than a lot of us were hoping for, but in the end, he has given standout signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa a four-year extension worth up to $212.4 million.

Of that $212.4 million, 167.1 million is guaranteed for Tagovailoa, who will be taking home an average of $53.1 million annually. However, as you might have expected, incentives are playing a big-time role in the contract for Tua - and those incentives can help him reach up to $55.35 million per season, but Tagovailoa has to prove he can get things done in the playoffs, per Ian Rapoport:

Tua Tagovailoa must show the Dolphins he can win the playoffs

"I'll add something else, the incentives for this deal, which are based on his playoff performance and playoff wins, can take this deal up to $55.35 million per year. A massive, massive day for Tua. "

- Ian Rapoport

The way this deal has been structured has to be considered a home-run for Grier. Everyone knew he was going to have to pay Tagovailoa at some point. After he was basically a non-participant during the first two days of camp, there was worry across the board.

Then, with him opening Day 3 of practice with a 70-yard touchdown to Tyreek Hill, it once again reminded everyone of how important he is for this offense and team. Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards, which alone proved to Grier that he needed to pay his QB.

After plenty of anxiety-filled weeks, though, the two sides were able to get things over the line. Tagovailoa has $167.1 million in guaranteed money coming his way, but should he post some memorable wins in the postseason, his checking account is going to spike even more. This was a brilliant way to do business by Grier and Co. They're hoping Tagovailoa ends up cashing in on those incentives too.