First on the list, the Miami Dolphins took care of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with contract extensions before the kickoff of the 2024 campaign in September. Now, they have locked up the ‘Cheetah’ taking care of wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
The Dolphins and Hill came to terms on a restructured contract worth $90 million over the next three years, with $65 million guaranteed, according to ESPN’s senior NFL insider Adam Schefter and beat reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques.
The agreement gives Hill $106.5 million over four years, the most guaranteed money for a wide receiver in NFL history. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network went into detail breaking down Hill’s new deal:
“Tyreek Hill’s contract does not add new years. This is just adding guaranteed money — the most guaranteed money added to a contract without adding new years in NFL history.”
Hill had teased about the extension earlier in the day on Saturday, posting a cryptic message to his social media account: “I’m here to stay.”
The thought of Hill earning and receiving a new contract gained momentum after the Dolphins came to terms on the extension with Waddle. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported on May 30, the same day Waddle agreed to his deal, that “the effort to address Hill’s contract began after the 2023 season ended.”
His previous contract was also set to pay him $19.7 million in base salary in 2024, $21.8 million in base salary in 2025 and $43.9 million in base salary in 2026.
Changing those figures with a new deal made sense for everyone involved. On one side of the equation, he was grossly underpaid compared to some of his contemporaries in the first two years of that span. On the other hand, the Dolphins surely were not looking to dish out that much money in one year in his age 32 season.
Then the wide receiver market turned on its head when the Minnesota Vikings agreed to make Justin Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league with a four-year, $140 million extension in June, $110 million guaranteed.
That signing put Hill’s future even further into the spotlight, and he discussed his contract following the Jefferson development while notably saying “being greedy ain’t gonna help the team.”
Embed from Getty ImagesHe also made it clear that retiring with his hometown team, the Dolphins, was even more important to him than having the deepest pockets.
It was not the first time Hill said he wanted to retire with the Dolphins. He also said as much during an appearance on the Around the Bar podcast in May (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).
“Obviously, I would like to retire in Miami, but we all know how the NFL is, how jobs go, and people getting promotions over here and we understand that,” he said. “But Miami is a great city. I love the team I play on, love the guys in the locker room, love the head coach, love the GM. So that means sign me. I love all you guys so much, I want to stay in Miami forever, man. Keep me there.”
This contract almost ensures that he will be in Miami for the rest of his career, which would be music to Dolphins ears if he continues to put up Pro Bowl and All-Pro level numbers.
Hill caught fire, snagging everything in sight and set a career-high with 1,710 receiving yards in his first season with the AFC East team in 2022 and believe it or not, then improved on that in 2023 with 119 receptions for 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns. He led the league in two major categories, receiving yards and touchdown catches during that 2023 campaign.
The speed demon has a Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 against the San Francisco 49ers, eight Pro Bowl selections and five First-Team All-Pro selections on his resume at 30 years old.
Now he will have the opportunity to add to the laundry list of accomplishments and his legacy with the Dolphins following this new deal.
