Tyreek Hill Addresses Contract Situation

Although Tyreek Hill‘s four-year, $120MM contract held the belt for most lucrative wide receiver deal for 25 months, this offseason’s developments have made the contract look Dolphins-friendly.

Prior to Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown and Justin Jefferson raising the AAV bar past Hill’s $30MM number and the Dolphins giving Jaylen Waddle more in total guarantees compared to their WR1’s contract, Miami’s future Hall of Fame pass catcher had been angling for an adjustment to his deal. The backloaded structure of Hill’s contract came up during the Jefferson-Vikings negotiations, and the younger wideout superstar managed to avoid the issue the Miami-based performer is navigating.

Jefferson’s guarantee numbers lap the WR field, with his fully guaranteed figure ($88.7MM) checking in $36MM north of Hill’s previous highwater mark. The Minnesota standout’s contract structure does not feature a phony final year to prop up the AAV figure the way Hill’s Dolphins pact does. Hill’s agent (Drew Rosenhaus) has communicated with Dolphins GM Chris Grier on this matter, but with the All-Pro talent signed through 2026, the team does not exactly have to act now.

“About the contract situation, I’m going to let my agent do his job,” Hill said, via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe. “That’s his job, man. His job is to get great at that. My job is obviously to come out here and help this team win. … We want to make sure it benefits both sides. I want to be able to help the team as much as I can. That’s as much as I can say about it.”

Hill, 30, added his top priority is making sure he will be a “Dolphin for life.” Offering glowing sentiments about his situation in Miami, Hill does not appear ready to force the issue just yet. His contract issue comes as the Dolphins are negotiating a blockbuster extension with Tagovailoa. As this situation plays out, Mike McDaniel said (via ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Beasley) Hill did not participate in team drills at this week’s minicamp.

It will be interesting to see, however, if Hill’s tone shifts should the Dolphins continue to hold their top player to a contract that includes three more seasons. Teams have held comparable players to club-friendly terms in the not-so-distant past. The Steelers did not relent on a third Antonio Brown contract until his walk year in 2017, and the Patriots never gave Rob Gronkowski a third contract, keeping him on the six-year deal he signed in 2012.

Hill made his way to South Florida after Davante Adams‘ Raiders contract prompted a course change during talks on a third Hill-Chiefs contract. While Hill said at the time he was not asking to be the NFL’s highest-paid receiver, the Chiefs bailed upon learning the speed merchant’s new asking price. The trade became mutually beneficial, with the draft capital obtained helping Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls and Hill elevating his profile with consecutive first-team All-Pro seasons while boosting Tua Tagovailoa‘s career in the process.

This Dolphins regime did cave to Xavien Howard earlier this decade. A year after giving Byron Jones a then-cornerback-record contract, the Dolphins dealt with Howard displeasure regarding a deal he signed in 2019. Four years remained on Howard’s deal when Grier authorized a reworking, and the GM greenlit a new contract that brought $50.7MM in new money months later. This process has probably already come up as the Hill camp presents a case for an adjusted contract, and after back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons, the eight-year veteran can certainly cite his impact on Tagovailoa as a reason he deserves to be paid in step with the new WR market.

Hill’s guarantees run out after 2024, and the 2026 season features an inflated base salary ($43.9MM) that almost definitely will not be paid. While Hill’s age and the duration of his contract provide some complications on his path to an adjusted accord, the Howard precedent — and perhaps the Dolphins wanting to finalize this before a CeeDee Lamb extension impacts the market further — may lead to a near-future resolution.