Examining Salary Cap Implications of Tua's Release

The Miami Dolphins finally made the move everyone has been waiting for. 

The team announced it will release QB Tua Tagovailoa when the new league year begins on March 11. This was the expected outcome once the team benched Tua at the end of the season and decided to hire a new HC (Jeff Hafley) and GM (Jon-Eric Sullivan). 

There will be plenty of coverage on why this happened, but in the immediate future, it’s important to consider the salary cap implications. Tua just signed his four-year, $212.4 million extension in July of 2024, so the Dolphins hardly have a clean out. 

What Does Cutting Tua “Post-June 1” Mean? 

The first part of this is noting that several national reports have indicated the Dolphins will use a post-June 1 cut on Tagovailoa. This means the team won’t have to deal with any fallout on the cap until June 1. 

For Tua, that fallout is massive. He’s got a $99 million dead cap hit, but with him being a post-June 1 release, the Dolphins can spread that number out across two seasons. It’ll be $67.4 million in 2026 and $31.8 million in 2027. 

Again, none of that will hit the Dolphins’ books until June 1. Teams only get two post-June 1 designations, and the second is likely to be used on edge rusher Bradley Chubb. A post-June 1 cut for Chubb would save the Dolphins about $20 million, according to Over The Cap. 

The other consideration is that the Dolphins will get some ultimately not very helpful relief if Tua signs with a new team. He’ll sign for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million, which will come off Miami’s books. 

Dolphins’ Dead Cap Hit Situation

Tagovailoa’s $99 million dead cap hit is now the highest in NFL history. 

The Denver Broncos previously held the record when they released QB Russell Wilson despite an $85 million dead cap charge, but that pales in comparison to Tua’s $99 million. Wilson's dead cap charge was also spread across two seasons, but his highest number was just $53 million.

Obviously, $99 million is an absurd number, but if it were the Dolphins' only big dead cap hit, it might be manageable. That is not the case, though. 

Before the Tua release, Over The Cap had the Dolphins with $76.6 million in dead cap hits for 2026. The main culprits are Tyreek Hill ($28.2M), Jalen Ramsey ($20.8M), and Terron Armstead ($10.7M). 

Tua’s roughly $67.4 million dead cap charge, which will hit the books in June, will surge that number to about $144 million. Remember, the NFL’s total cap is $301 million, meaning the Dolphins will be using almost 48 percent of their cap on players no longer on the roster next season. 

What About the Dolphins’ 2027 Outlook? 

All of this seems so doom-and-gloom, but one of the Dolphins’ missions this offseason is to set the cap right for the future. Well, that’s looking pretty good right now. 

Prior to Tua’s release hitting the books, Over The Cap is projecting the Dolphins to have $91 million in effective cap space in 2027. That number accounts for things like signing a draft class. 

Even with the team sinking more dead money into Tua in 2027, it’ll have more than enough room to navigate the 2027 offseason. If the Dolphins want to be aggressive in free agency next year, they’ll have that ability. 

The team won’t have much operating room this offseason, but it’s all in service of a larger goal, and making a decision on Tua was an important step in that process.