Tua Tagovailoa will Make Future Announcement January 6
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa states he will make his future plans public on Monday January 6. Tagovailoa is deciding on declaring for the NFL draft or returning to Tuscaloosa for his senior season. Tagovailoa was considered a consensus top draft pick prior to the 2019 season but suffered a dislocated and fractured hip in November putting his draft status in jeopardy.
The Miami Dolphins reportedly were “tanking” the 2019 season in order to position themselves to draft Tagovailoa to be its next quarterback. The Dolphins finished the season 5-11 and will be selecting fifth overall in the upcoming draft. Miami also has the 19th pick and a pick yet to be determined from the Houston Texans.
The value of the 2020 draft picks are not yet known, but using the 2019 results can tell us about how much money Tagovailoa is looking to earn. 2019 top pick Kyler Murray signed a contract worth $35.2 million, fifth overall pick Devin White ended up signing a contract worth $29.3 million. The value of the 10th pick Devin Bush signed a deal worth $18.9 million and 20th pick Noah Fant penned a deal worth $12.6 million. The rookie wage scale was implemented in 2011 and removed most of the financial negotiations the rookies can do after being selected. With each passing pick in the 2020 draft, Tagovailoa stands to lose millions of dollars.
Tagovailoa has publically called this decision the biggest in his young life. His hip fracture is still healing and it’s unlikely he would be able to participate in any of the pre-draft evaluations. He stands to graduate from Alabama at the end of the summer semester in 2019. He can return to the Crimson Tide and prove to NFL teams his value and possibly win another national championship, or he can go ahead and declare for the draft counting on a team to draft him based on the ability he’s already shown. Tide100.9 will have all the updates on Tagovailoa’s decision on Monday, January 6.