After he left last night’s loss against the Bills with a concussion, many have been speculating about the future of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. An extensive history of head injuries has many wondering if yesterday’s latest brain trauma will lead to the end of Tagovailoa’s NFL career. 
Last night offered another scary scene for those who have followed Tagovailoa throughout his time in Miami. After lowering his head into a tackle by Damar Hamlin, who is no stranger to scary injuries, Tagovailoa exhibited signs of unconsciousness as he laid writhing on the ground demonstrating what is called a fencing response. It was the second such instance in the past two years.
In a Week 3 game against the Bills in 2022, Tagovailoa left the contest with a reported back injury before returning to finish the game. Many suspected that the team may have violated concussion protocols by letting him return, but he was back in the starting lineup the following week, regardless. In the Week 4 matchup with the Bengals, Tagovailoa was sacked and demonstrated the fencing response for the first time, leading to an exit and a two-game absence. He later missed the last two games of the season under concussion protocol.
After a fully healthy 2023 season, Miami rewarded Tagovailoa with a four-year, $212.4MM extension, including 167.17MM in guarantees. With so many wondering about the potential end of Tagovailoa’s career due to the frequency of his brain injuries, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald took a look at what that would mean financially.
Firstly, it seems wildly unlikely that the Dolphins would make the decision to move on from Tagovailoa if he is medically cleared. First of all, they gave him his extension under the assumption that he would be their quarterback of the future. If he is able to return, they’ll likely stick with that assumption, especially after his 2023 season. Second, releasing a healthy Tagovailoa would require the team to eat $83.65MM in dead money.
On Tagovailoa’s side, if the 26-year-old were to pass a physical but still decide to retire, the Dolphins would be left with $33.6MM in dead money, per Jason Fitzgerald of OvertheCap.com, which they would be able to spread over the 2025 and 2026 seasons. That option seems unlikely, as well, though, as it would require Tagovailoa to pass up several of millions of dollars that he has already been guaranteed.
Though many are worried for the health and safety of the former Alabama passer, his recent extension makes it difficult to see a swift end to NFL career. Decisions may be made to limit his exposure and playing time if injuries continue to occur, but with so much money on the table, expect both Tagovailoa and the Dolphins to keep working to forge a way forward together.
There’s a lot of talk about “should Tua end his career”, but to be honest, he didn’t stop after #3, so do we really expect he’ll draw a hard line at #4?
Guaranteed money is the difference between then and now
A Hobson’s Choice. Tough all the way around.
I wish Tua the best recovery he can have.
Can they restructure his deal to optimize it for the best financial outcome for both Tua and the team – in the event of another concussion?
He can’t continue with this as the risk is just too high.
Johnny Concussions should hang them up.
Many quarterbacks had more concussions, his have just been so jarring, it’s scary
He won’t hang it up cause he’s young, and that’s too much money to give up. I just hope he learns to slide.
So what would happen to Miami cap wise if Tua cannot pass a physical and is forced to retire?
I have no interest in telling Tua what he should or should not do. It’s his body, his life, and his decision on how to move forward.
Good I don’t think he’d listen to you
News flash – he has no interest in listening to all the virtue signalers telling him to retire. You all are just pissing in the wind. But if it makes you feel better, keep it up!
The recovery time is longer with each successive concussion, thus he probably has a few weeks to think about next steps. I doubt he would retire and leave all that guaranteed money on the table.
He will probably continue on with/ his career and then sue the league for CTE when he’s in his 40s.
If this happened during a Sunday regional game no one would be talking about it. He will keep playing, maybe get a guardian cap sponsorship and profit from it
I’d walk away with the 33 million ♂️