If Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ultimately isn’t cleared to play after suffering his latest concussion, the Dolphins have a path to recovering some of the $167 million in injury guarantees payable to Tua.
Paragraph 42 of the Tua contract, a copy of which PFT has obtained, authorizes the Dolphins to purchase one or more insurance policies that would pay the team up to $49.3 million in the event of a football-related injury that prevents him from playing.
The full $49.3 million applies to any injury happening from the signing of the contract through the start of the offseason workout program in 2025. After that, the maximum insurance is $36.975 million.
The available insurance continues to drop each year. In each case, it depends on an injury that prevents him from playing.
Which takes us back to the core question that Tua and the Dolphins currently face. Will he be cleared to play? If not, he gets his injury guarantees and the Dolphins can collect the insurance.
If he’s cleared to play and chooses not to, an entirely different analysis applies. One that will keep the Dolphins from collecting insurance money. And one that would entitle the Dolphins to cut off future payments and to pursue the bulk of his $42 million signing bonus.
Even if the Dolphins collect $49.3 million in insurance, they’ll still be out nearly $120 million if Tua isn’t cleared to play following his latest concussion.