Why Trevor Lawrence's contract should have no impact on Tua Tagovailoa

Just recently, the Jaguars announced that they had agreed on a five-year extension with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. It's a deal that made history and people are still talking about it. Five years and $275 million, with $200 million guaranteed? Wow.

The deal gives Lawrence a $55 million per year average salary. Lawrence joins Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Jerod Goff as the only $50 million a year quarterbacks in the NFL. How does this deal impact Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins?

The Miami Dolphins are hoping to finalize a Tua Tagovailoa extension soon

Tagovailoa is currently under contract for the 2024 season. In 2025, he is set to become a free agent, but Miami can franchise tag him should they choose to go that route. Miami has been in contract negotiations with its star QB for quite some time now. Despite Lawrence’s new contract, it should not affect Miami’s negotiations, nor should it alter how much Miami should offer the former first-round pick.

Tagovailoa finished the 2023 season as the No. 3 rated passer in the NFL and the league leader in passing yards. In two seasons with Mike McDaniel, Tagovailoa has been a Top 5 rated passer in the league. Yet, Miami must continue to look at his entire body of work since arriving in 2020. 

He has not posted a playoff victory and is 9-14 when playing against teams with a winning record; 2-7 in December. In the 14 losses, he has only thrown for 300 yards twice. All this information is known by Chris Grier and the Dolphins front office and is sure to be a sticking point in negotiations.

History has shown playing hardball hasn’t always benefited the Miami Dolphins. Playing hardball could drive Tagovailoa's value outside of Miami’s budget like it did with Christian Wilkins. Wilkins was due a hefty payday in 2023 -instead of negotiating an extension, Miami let him play out his final year. Wilkins bet on himself and won, signing a four-year $110 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Miami has a price point they’d like to be at withTagovailoa. The signal-caller should take his cues from previous quarterbacks and take less to ensure a competitive roster. Miami needs to give Tagovailoa a valuable contract that fairly and accurately compensates the franchise quarterback for the performance he has displayed on the field.

Looking at other quarterbacks is only natural, but not all situations are created equal. Miami will continue to negotiate and hope things can get done before camp. Lawrence and other quarterbacks should have no bearing on how much Tagovailoa gets paid in the end.