MIAMI — We’re far from the point of no return in Tua Tagovailoa and his camp’s ongoing negotiations with the Miami Dolphins for a multiyear extension.

Both sides are working to find a compromise, and the first real deadline is the July 24 start of training camp. And even that soft deadline can be pushed to the Sept. 9 start of the regular season. The week leading up to the kickoff is when the Dolphins' decision makers typically put their best offers on the table for extensions.

But what happens if the Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa, who is playing on his fifth-year option, which is worth $23.1 million, can’t come to terms on a deal, much like Christian Wilkins, a three-time team captain, couldn’t last year? What happens if the team’s starting quarterback decides he eventually wants a divorce?

While that’s not likely since Tagovailoa claims South Florida will be his family’s forever home, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.

Nobody goes into a marriage expecting it to have an expiration date. But Tagovailoa did warn that it has been difficult to not take these negotiations personally.

“For people that talk about business is different than personal, sure, I can agree to some extent. But who you are as a person, for what you do business and personal, is who you are with how you do everything. That’s how I see it,” Tagovailoa said earlier this month. “If you can be two different people at once, hey by all means. But to me, that’s just not how I am.”

Using the tag

Using the franchise tag to retain Tagovailoa in 2025 is an option, one that will cost Miami something in the neighborhood of $43 million in real salary, and cap space. That’s certainly doable for all parties, and is likely being used as negotiating leverage by both camps.

Having the nonexclusive tag available protects the Dolphins for one season, and maybe two if they use it a second time for $51.6 million in 2026.

However, going that route would handcuff Miami when it comes to the team’s spending power that offseason since the Dolphins are projected to only have $7 million in cap space, and that’s after this year’s money ($16 million in cap space) is carried over to next year, if that’s how Miami plans to use it.

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