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Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins played poorly in the 26-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wild Card matchup. With the defeat, the Dolphins have lost six straight postseason games.
The loss sends the Dolphins to the golf course. It also officially started discussions around whether Tagovailoa would receive a contract extension this offseason. But following the game, the 25-year-old quarterback did his best to minimize those likely upcoming talks.
“I don’t feel any pressure at all,” Tagovailoa said when talking about his contract situation, via Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald. “I have full trust in myself. I have full trust in what I’m capable of doing for our organization.
“Outside of that, we’re focusing on tonight and what happened. We’re going to simmer on this and see what we can do to get better from it going into next year.”
There is one year remaining on Tagovailoa’s rookie contract. He will make roughly $23.17 million next season.
Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Sulking in the Moment
NFL players often say they try to savor the moment after a big victory. Tagovailoa was doing the opposite on January 13.
“Losing’s never fun,” Tagovailoa said during his postgame press conference, via McPherson. “When stakes are higher and it’s playoff time, you feel that maybe 10 times more I would say whether it’s a win or a loss. You’ve got to live with that.”
“Right now, this is a moment for the guys in that locker room and our team to be with one another, to sulk in this.”
The Dolphins players had plenty of reasons to sulk. The Chiefs outgained the Dolphins, 409-264. Of Miami’s 264 yards, 53 of them came on a second-quarter touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Outside of that touchdown, the Dolphins averaged 3.6 yards per play.
Tagovailoa finished the night completing 20 of 39 passes for 199 yards. He also had a touchdown and an interception.
Projecting Tua Tagovailoa’s Next Contract
While the Dolphins had a bad night at Arrowhead Stadium, given how well Tagovailoa played during the regular season and the difficulty of finding a franchise quarterback in the NFL, the 25-year-old is likely still going to land a contract extension this offseason.
The Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad didn’t even wait until the end of the 2023 regular season to argue Tagovailoa had earned a new deal.
“After this season, the Dolphins should pay Tua,” wrote Schad on January 4.
“He is the face of the franchise. He is a franchise quarterback capable of leading Miami to a Super Bowl championship. And when you find that quarterback, you have no choice but to pay him.”
Schad estimated that Tagovailoa would receive a four or five-year deal worth between $50-55 million per season. Spotrac made a similar projection, placing the 25-year-old’s market value at six years and $302.8 million overall.
Such a contract would pay Tagovailoa $50.4 million per season.
While that’s obviously a lot of money, Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards. He’s averaged at least 8.3 yards per attempt each of the past two seasons, and he also had a career-high 29 touchdowns in 2023.
Tagovailoa has posted a 32-19 record as Miami’s starter in his career. He’s had a winning record in each of his four NFL seasons.
He’ll have to wait at least one more year for his first postseason win. The Dolphins have been waiting for another win in the playoffs since December 2000.
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