Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins reached an agreement on Friday to extend their deal for four years, $212.4 million, with a $167 million guarantee. The transaction is the biggest in the franchise’s past.
Tagovailoa’s average yearly income under the new contract will be just over $53 million. That figure is noteworthy since it exceeds the career earnings of Dan Marino, a legend of the Dolphins and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The only thing debating Marino’s status as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history is the fact that he was never able to win a Super Bowl. In 1984, he was voted league MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. He also set five passing records in the NFL. There are too many franchise records and all-time records to count.
Marino passed for 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns in 147 regular season games for the Dolphins. By a country mile (and then some), those continue to be franchise records.
Though he still has a ways to go before catching Marino, Tagovailoa is fourth on the team record for passing yards (12,639) and passing touchdowns (81).
The disparities in pay demonstrate the NFL’s and its individual teams’ financial worth in addition to their popularity. Although things have changed, Marino played in an era when baseball was still regarded as the national game.
The NFL was listed with an aggregate value of $163 billion as of 2023, which is larger than the values of several nations. The Dolphins were valued at $5.7 billion.