Why Dolphins are releasing Tua Tagovailoa despite historic dead money hit

Mar 9, 2026 - 18:00

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Why Dolphins are releasing Tua Tagovailoa despite historic dead money hit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Tua Tagovailoa era in Miami is coming to an end.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Miami Dolphins are cutting Tagovailoa, which will lead to a record-breaking $99.2 million dead-cap hit in 2026.

The cut will be made with a post-June 1 designation.

"The Dolphins are releasing QB Tua Tagovailoa with a post–June 1 designation. By cutting Tagovailoa, Miami will take on an NFL-record $99 million in dead money, split over two years, but new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and HC Jeff Hafley now get a fresh start at the quarterback position," Schefter reported.

The Dolphins did attempt to trade Tua, but it's no surprise they didn't find any takers considering that monster contract that has now proven to be a colossal mistake.

Why Dolphins are releasing Tua

While Tagovailoa once played at a high level in Miami, the last two years have been bad, and the 2025 campaign was especially bad.

The writing was on the wall last season that Tagovailoa wasn't long for Miami after he was benched for Quinn Ewers, who actually played better than Tua.

This was a move the team needed to make, even with the amount of dead money it is taking on. Now, both Tua and the Dolphins get a fresh start.