NFL News: Tua Tagovailoa seals deal with Miami Dolphins

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is already putting money in the bank for the Miami Dolphins. On Monday, the Dolphins returned that favor as the former Alabama quarterback and the NFL team completed his contract.

Tagovailoa has a fully guaranteed, four-year, $30,275,438 contract with a team option for a fifth season. He got a signing bonus of $19,578,500.

The bulk of the contract is in bonus money. In addition to the signing bonus, Tagovailoa will receive roster bonuses during training camp for $1.206 million in 2021, $2.467 million in 2022 and $3.78 million in 2023.

That leaves Tagovailoa with a base salary of $610,000 for 2020, $780,000 for 2021, $895,000 for 2022 and $1.01 million for 2023. Base salaries are paid in 17 installments during the NFL regular season.

As the fifth selection in the NFL Draft on April 23, the value of Tagovailoa’s contact was predetermined, with only the details left open for negotiation. The values of the contracts for drafted players are based on the NFL’s salary cap of $198.2 million for the 2020 season and this year’s rookie compensation pool in a formula spelled out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its players association.

Over the past two weeks, Tagovailoa has had the two best-selling jerseys on NFLShop.com, ESPN reported on Monday. Tagovailoa’s Miami aqua jersey is No. 1 and his white jersey is No. 2.

Tagovailoa will wear No. 1 for the Dolphins.

In jersey sales, Tagovailoa is outdistancing Tom Brady, whose jerseys hold the third, fourth, fifth and sixth spots in the sales. In March, the quarterback left the New England Patriots after 20 seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tagovailoa is the third of the 21 players from Alabama high schools and colleges drafted in April who has completed his contract. Former Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown, the No. 7 pick by the Carolina Panthers, has signed a fully guaranteed, four-year, $23,621,405 contract that included a $14,739,203 signing bonus, and former Alabama outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings, a third-round pick by the New England Patriots, has signed a four-year, $4,596,871 contract that included a $903,180 signing bonus, which was the guaranteed portion of the deal.

source: al.com