After Tua Tagovailoa’s $212,400,000 deal, Dolphins could break WR market for Tyreek Hill: Report
Tua Tagovailoa's new contract is now set for the next four years so the Dolphins can now look at pinning down Tyreek Hill to a new long-term contract. The wide receiver has previously mentioned that he is thinking about a new deal after Justin Jefferson's contract this year reset the market for the position with $35 million average per year being the top-line position.
And per the latest from Mike Florio, that is exactly what the Dolphins are thinking about doing. Writing for Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports, he said:
"Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Dolphins will now turn to Tyreek’s deal, given that Tua’s five-year contract has been signed."
Mike Florio added that just because attention is turning toward Tyreek Hill does not mean that Miami will be willing to do anything drastic. The wide receiver is currently scheduled to earn around $20 million in the upcoming two seasons. Instead of doing something completely new, the NFL analyst suggested that the Dolphins could look to move some of the $45 million due in 2026 to bump up his earnings for the next two seasons:
"It remains to be seen what the Dolphins will do, if anything. He’s due to make $19.665 million this year, $22.935 million in 2025, and a phony-baloney $45 million in 2026. (That big final-year payment artificially drove his new-money average from $25 million to $30 million.)...
"One easy solution would be to move some of the money from 2026 to 2024. The Dolphins could also guarantee some of next year’s money."
Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill discrepancy similar to Daniel Jones-Saquon Barkley situation
Why the Dolphins are likely to do something comes down to the disparity between Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill for the coming season. The wide receiver is going to earn less than $20 million as it stands in 2024, far below the average for the top players in the position. And the quarterback is going to earn $53.1 million on average.
This is happening even though the Tyreek Hill is arguably more important than Tua Tagovailoa in Miami's offense. If they do not work something out for him, the wide receiver might look for pastures anew. And just as Daniel Jones' mammoth contract last year created the condition where Saquon Barkley felt underpaid by the Giants and joined divisional rivals Eagles this offseason, any lingering discontent could break the fabulous Dolphins offense Mike McDaniel has created.