Following the Atlanta Falcons’ preseason matchup against quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s former team, the Miami Dolphins, Tagovailoa’s mother, Diane, took to X and made a comment that is not sitting well with fans whatsoever.
Tua Tagovailoa’s Mother Fires Back at Criticism of His $212.4 Million ContractTo start, let’s go back to July 26, 2024, the day the Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to a four-year deal worth $212.4 million.
Since signing that deal, Tagovailoa played 25 games across two seasons for the team. As the starter, he went 12-13, completing 551 of 783 passes (70.4%) for 5,527 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions.
Last season, he threw 15 of those 22 interceptions, which helped lead him to a 72.1 grade in PFN’s QB Impact metric.
As a result of his poor play, Tagovailoa was released by the Dolphins this offseason as a post-June 1 cut. The team was hit with $99.2 million in dead money, but thanks to that post-June 1 release, they were at least able to spread that across two seasons.
After being cut, Tagovailoa signed a 1-year deal with the Falcons. That context matters because for Dolphins fans, that amount of dead money all but means the franchise will be down on its luck for the next couple of years due to spending limitations.
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So, back to Tagovailoa’s mom.
After the preseason game involving the Falcons and Dolphins, ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe posted a video of Tagovailoa greeting his former teammates.
In response to this, Tagovailoa’s mom had this to say: “They’ll critique what they see from the stands and speak on what they’ll never know personally. Meanwhile, character keeps showing itself. Bigger than football. Always.”
That’s not what got fans in a frenzy, though.
After she posted that, someone replied, saying, “200M makes it about football.”
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Tagovailoa’s mom responded with, “Cha Ching.”
Needless to say, that didn’t go over well with fans.
“Absolutely wild,” one fan said, quoting the post. “Yeah, that’s the point. He got paid Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson/Patrick Mahomes money, then immediately turned into a guy who doesn’t belong within a football field of a football facility,” someone else remarked.
“Biggest disappointment and mistake in Miami Dolphins history,” another fan wrote.
The original person who replied to Tagovailoa’s mom followed up on her “Cha Ching” comment, saying, “I mean this team basically has to sacrifice an entire season thanks to the Tua contract, so it’s understandable if some people are upset”
Tagovailoa was also met with a decent amount of boos on his return to Hard Rock Stadium. While he didn’t dazzle in his final preseason outing, attention will now turn to whether he can lock down the QB1 job in Atlanta with Week 1 around the corner.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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