Tyreek Hill wants Tua Tagovailoa to get his big check, and came to his quarterback’s aid during his contract dilemma.
During a guest appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Friday, Hill explained he does not understand why some people don’t believe Tagovailoa deserves a contract extension with the Dolphins to become one of the highest paid signal-callers in the NFL.
“For people to like sit here and try to discredit Tua and say he’s not deserving of a contract is wild to me,” Hill said. “A lot of guys on the team understand his value and understand that we need him. We need his leadership, we need the mindset that he brings into each and every week. It’s there. It’s like Terminator almost, man. I feel like he should be one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.”
Tagovailoa is heading into his fifth year and has watched several other quarterback get their big payday this offseason — the Falcons’ Kirk Cousins (four years, $180 million), Lions’ Jared Goff (four years, $212 million), and Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence (five years, $275 million) — with the latter two re-signing with their respective teams.
Tagovailoa, 26, is coming off a career year, leading the league in passing yards with 4,624 for 29 touchdowns on a 69.3 percent completion rate in 17 games.
It was the rebound year he needed after suffering two concussions in 2022, though that still seems to be a concern for some.
But not for Hill.
“That is not valid, man,” Hill said when asked about the health argument. “People gotta understand from Tua’s development and where he’s come from and where he is now, that should speak volumes to a lot of people.
“A lot of people say ‘Oh he has coach [Mike] McDaniel call the plays. Oh he has XYZ receivers or he got all these playmakers.’ But, at the end of the day, you still got to get those playmakers the ball, you feel me? You got to be able to prepare each and every week with the same mindset, knowing that you got crazy defensive ends coming off the edge to try and take your head off, you feel me? There’s a lot that goes into it, man.”
Tagovailoa didn’t attend much of the team’s voluntary offseason workouts as extension talks have dragged out.
He is under contract through the end of the 2024 season on a $23 million fifth-year option, if the two sides cannot agree to an extension.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said in January that it’s the team’s “goal to have him [in Miami] long-term playing at a high level.”
To be one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the upcoming season, Tagovailoa would have to make at least $50 million a year.
Joe Burrow and Lawerence both lead the league with $55 million per year, followed by Goff ($53 million), Justin Herbert ($52.5 million), Lamar Jackson ($52 million), and Jalen Hurts ($51 million), according to Over The Cap.