Tua Tagovailoa: Miami Dolphins to release quarterback and suffer NFL record

The Miami Dolphins will release quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, which will cost them a record $99.2 million (£74.2 million).

The 28-year-old has been the Dolphins’ starting quarterback since 2020, when they selected him with the fifth overall pick.

He has earned a four-year contract extension in 2024 worth $212.4m (£158.9m) and releasing him just two years into that deal would cost Miami the NFL’s highest ever amount of dead money towards their salary cap.

It will surpass the previous record of $85m (£63.6m) when the Denver Broncos allowed Russell Wilson to leave in 2024.

“We will be moving in a new direction at the quarterback position and will be leaving him after the start of the new league year,” general manager John Eric Sullivan said.

Tagovailoa said he was considering retirement after suffering two concussions during the 2022 season, but he returned to lead the league in passing yards in 2023, taking Miami to the playoffs.

That earned him a lucrative extension, but two months later he was concussed again, and after some disappointing form in 2025, he was benched for the final three games of last season.

Miami fired coach Mike McDaniel in January, brought in Jeff Hafley and a new general manager in Sullivan, and opted to rebuild their roster as well.

They released wide receiver Tyreek Hill last month and agreed to trade safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the New York Jets.

“As we move forward, we will focus on instilling competition across the roster and creating a strong foundation for this team as we work to build a sustainable winner,” Sullivan added.

Tagovailoa is the second franchise quarterback to be moved during the NFL free agency period after Kyler Murray.

The Arizona Cardinals said last week they would release the 2019 first overall pick after just one season out of seven, four of which were interrupted by injury.