MW The NFL's Dolphins are paying a record $99.2 million to get a player off their team
By Weston Blasi
Here's why some NFL teams are giving their players, including Tua Tagovailoa, staggering amounts of money to stop playing for them
Tua Tagovailoa's nearly $100 million release is currently the highest NFL "dead cap" charge ever - but it won't be a record for long, experts say.
It wasn't long ago that a $100 million contract in pro sports was a huge deal. Now, teams are taking on $100 million penalties to make players leave.
On Monday, the NFL's Miami Dolphins announced plans to release quarterback Tua Tagovailoa - less than two years after he signed a $212 million extension with the team. Tagovailoa has $54 million in guaranteed money left on that contract, which the Dolphins will still be forced to pay him.
Paying players after they have been cut - as well teams assuming "dead cap" accounting charges against their salary caps - is not a new occurrence in the NFL, but increasingly high dead cap amounts are now breaking records. Tagovailoa's $99.2 million dead cap charge is the highest of all time, edging out the $85 million that the Denver Broncos took to cut quarterback Russell Wilson in 2024.
Tagovailoa's base salary, which was set to be $39 million, would have been the third highest in the league for the 2026 season. It's unclear what Tagovailoa's net worth is, but he's signed $197 million worth of guaranteed money in total on his NFL contracts, and has inked endorsement deals with major brands like Adidas (XE:ADS), Bose, Muscle Milk, Wingstop, Gillette and Subway.
Tagovailoa, 28, had the best passer rating in the NFL in 2022 and the most passing yards in 2023. He's a one-time Pro Bowler, and helped the Dolphins qualify for the playoffs twice. So why - especially given the nearly $100 million price tag - are the Dolphins letting him go?
"The salary cap is a big part of what's driving these high-priced players' releases," Michael Leeds, professor of economics at Temple University, told MarketWatch. "It's easier and less painful to make these contract mistakes."
The NFL's salary cap, which dictates how much money teams can spend on players each year, has been on the rise recently. The 2026 salary cap is set at a record $301.2 million per team - up nearly threefold from $102 million in 2006. These yearly cap increases mean that awarding long-term contracts that end up not panning out doesn't hurt teams as much anymore, because today's expensive mistakes become more manageable as each team's overall revenue pie continues to grow.
The NFL salary cap rises and falls in unison with the NFL's business, which is thriving. The league's revenue is climbing due to yearly revenue increases as part of its $100 billion broadcast deal, which now features games on CBS $(PSKY)$, FOX $(FOX)$, ABC $(DIS)$, ESPN, YouTube $(GOOG)$ $(GOOGL)$, Netflix $(NFLX)$ and Amazon (AMZN).
Because of that increase, teams can afford to make mistakes like giving out huge contracts to players they eventually cut, because NFL franchises are getting more money each season due to the rising cap.
"It's remarkable to me that NFL owners, who [make] billions of dollars driving hard bargains in other aspects of their lives, suddenly lose all sense of business acumen when they become owners of a sports team," Leeds said about NFL teams handing out bad contracts to players.
And despite his hot start to his career, Tagovailoa has had a poor run of form during the last two seasons. He threw 15 interceptions in 2025, and has also suffered from several head injuries that have forced him to miss time. He sustained four concussions in six years, and met with doctors to see if he could continue his football career.
Fans might look upon the Tagovailoa situation as a cautionary tale of handing out a big contract to a player who was no slam dunk. But that likely won't change NFL teams' minds when handing out big deals in the future, especially if the salary cap keeps going up. And they might get even bigger, too.
"We'll just keep adding zeros to these dead cap players, and see how high they can go," Leeds explained. "Hey, the Mets are still paying Bobby Bonilla, aren't they?""
See also: FIFA World Cup games in Massachusetts may be in danger amid funding fight. Here's what fans can do.
"This reminds me of the adage that is so true: Sometimes, the best deals you do are the ones you don't," sports-business analyst Andrew Brandt posted on X about the Tagovailoa release.
After the former Dolphins quarterback was released, Tagovailoa wrote on Instagram that he was thankful for his time in Miami.
"From the moment I arrived, you believed in me, supported me, and embraced my family as your own. I was able to marry my wife and welcome both my kids to this world," he posted. "Wearing this jersey and representing this city has been one of the greatest joys of my life."
He added that he wanted to bring the city a Super Bowl. "Miami deserves that, and I'll always wish I could have delivered it for you," he wrote.
On Monday evening, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Tagovailoa plans to sign a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons after the Dolphins officially release him. Any salary that he receives from the Falcons will reportedly be subtracted from the $54 million that the Dolphins still owe him.
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-Weston Blasi
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March 09, 2026 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)
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