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What’s the hold up on Tua Tagovailoa’s contract extension?

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Miami Dolphins fans this offseason as time has continued to pass, and there are still no signs of a deal between the team and Tua Tagovailoa.

Talks of contract negotiations emerged in late April when general manager Chris Grier confirmed that the team is committed to making Tagovailoa the long-term franchise quarterback. Weeks began to pass, leading to questions about the quarterback’s attendance at OTAs.

Head coach Mike McDaniel assured there was no reason to worry, and Tagovailoa held up on his end of the bargain by attending OTAs and minicamp. But as early offseason workouts calmed down, tensions appeared to ramp up.

On the final day of mandatory minicamp, the quarterback was visibly frustrated over the ongoing process and influx of contract-related questions, describing his emotions as “antsy.” Days later, Trevor Lawrence agreed to a five-year, $275 million extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Lawrence is the stronger runner of the two, but Tagovailoa edges the Jaguars’ quarterback out in every other category. Surely Lawrence tying Joe Burrow with a $55 million annual salary would put Tagovailoa in the ballpark, or so he thought.

Since Lawrence’s June 13 contract agreement, tensions have continued to rise. According to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, it’s come down to an issue of the Dolphins refusing to offer market value. Perhaps Tagovailoa was sending a message at minicamp when he said, “The market is the market.”

“Based on my conversations, [Miami’s offers] are not in the Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence ballpark, and that, to me, speaks volumes about where the negotiations are right now. Again though, key word: negotiations,” Darlington said.

Days later, NFL Insider Adam Schefter argued the debate might surround what market value is at this point. The Dolphins and Tagovailoa have an opportunity to raise the bar once again.

“The Dolphins have been very clear, they want to pay Tua Tagovailoa. The question is, what is fair market value? And that’s a moving bar. A couple of weeks ago, it would’ve been easy to argue that, ‘Hey, we don’t know if he’s worth the money that the Bengals are paying Joe Burrow, which is $55 million on average.’ But then Trevor Lawrence comes along, and he gets $55 million a year on average. So when that happens, the market shifts,” Schefter said.

Lawrence and Goff’s extensions has raised eyebrows for other quarterbacks around the league. In addition to Tagovailoa, Jordan Love and Dak Prescott are top future contract recipients. The problem for these teams is becoming clear: As time goes on, quarterbacks only get more expensive.