This article teaches a practical method to estimate how much the Miami Dolphins may still owe Tua Tagovailoa without asserting specific contract numbers. It explains the difference between cash payments and salary cap accounting, shows which public sources to consult, and gives step-by-step formulas and hypothetical examples you can reuse for any NFL player. The goal is reproducible analysis. You will learn which contract fields to extract, how to convert prorated bonuses into remaining cap charges, and how to model releases, trades, and restructures responsibly. The emphasis is on clear assumptions and verification rather than headlines.

Differentiate guaranteed cash from salary cap accounting before estimating what a team still owes.

Use multiple public sources and record assumptions when you convert reported figures into cash or cap numbers.

Model releases, trades, and restructures as scenarios and label the team responsible for each payment.

What people mean when they ask how much the Dolphins still owe

Why readers ask this question

When someone asks how much the Dolphins still owe, they are usually trying to understand one of two different things: the actual cash a player will still receive from the team, or the salary cap charges that remain on the team books. Those are distinct concepts and produce very different answers.

Casual readers and analysts alike ask this to assess roster flexibility, trade feasibility, or to compare the team commitment relative to performance. For readers tracking betting markets or team value, the term miami dolphins moneyline can appear in searches related to team strength, but the accounting question about a player's remaining pay is separate from betting lines.

Cash owed versus cap obligations, miami dolphins moneyline

In short, "money owed" can mean either the remaining guaranteed cash the club must still pay to the player, or the remaining cap charges that count against the team's salary cap. Guaranteed cash is about actual dollars that will flow to the player absent unusual offsets. Cap obligations describe how the team spreads or absorbs those dollars for league accounting.

Which figure matters depends on context. A competing team considering a trade will care about which cash payments transfer and whether offsets apply. A fan reading a cap tracker will likely see cap hits, not the exact cash timing. Understanding the difference is the first step before attempting any calculation.

How NFL contracts are structured: the building blocks you need to know

Guarantees and non-guarantees

NFL contracts typically include some mixture of guaranteed and non-guaranteed elements. A guarantee can be full, partial, conditional, or tied to injury. For estimation you must flag the portion of the reported salary labeled as guaranteed and note any conditions that could void or delay that guarantee. Guarantees determine the minimum cash the player is contractually due under current terms.

Understanding guarantee types helps you model scenarios. For example, injury guarantees may pay only if a player is released with a medical issue. Skill guarantees or guarantees that vest after a date require tracking the conditions precisely before you count them as cash owed.

Signing bonus, roster bonus and prorations

Signing bonuses are typically paid up front to the player and are then prorated across years for cap accounting. The team usually pays the cash when the bonus is due, while the cap effect is spread by rule over the agreed proration period. Roster and option bonuses usually have specific payment dates and are treated as cash payments when paid, while also affecting the cap in the season they are due.

When you estimate remaining cash, record whether a signing bonus has already been paid or remains outstanding. When you calculate remaining cap implications, note how many proration years remain and whether the league rules allow accelerated accounting on a release or trade.

Work through the checklist to confirm contract fields

Use the checklist in this article to mark which contract fields you have verified before you convert reported numbers into remaining cash and cap figures.

Open the checklist

Cap hit and dead money explained

Cap hit is the total amount counted against a team's salary cap for a player in a given season. It includes base salary, prorated portions of signing bonuses, roster bonuses occurring that season, and sometimes workout bonuses. Dead money is the portion of remaining prorated bonuses or guarantees that accelerates and counts against the original team if the player is released or traded under certain conditions.

For practical estimation, separate the cap accounting calculation from the cash calculation. A release can create dead money that affects cap space but does not always change the cash timing to the player. Always be explicit whether you report cash owed or cap obligation when presenting a figure.

What is publicly known about Tua Tagovailoa's contract (how to gather facts)

Where to find contract documents and transaction logs

To estimate what the Miami Dolphins still owe Tua Tagovailoa you need to consult multiple public sources. Typical starting points include official team announcements for signings and restructures, league transaction logs for releases and trades, and independent salary trackers that summarize yearly cap hits. Confirming details across sources reduces the risk of relying on a single, outdated report.

Each source has strengths. Team announcements often state the headline guarantees. Transaction logs confirm dates and roster movement. Salary trackers consolidate cap hits and remaining proration years but may not report conditional guarantee language. Use them together rather than trusting one alone.

How to interpret public salary reports

Public salary reports often present annual cap hits and reported guarantees, but they do not always show the fine print such as offset language, conditional guarantees, or the timing of cash flows for specific bonuses. A cap hit for a given season does not automatically equal cash paid that season, so you must read reported schedules carefully and, where possible, seek the original contract text or a reliable breakdown.

When you build your estimate, annotate every reported figure with its source and the date of the report. Contracts may be updated by restructures or new guarantees, and public summaries can lag those changes. Mark any assumptions explicitly when a source is not definitive.

Step-by-step method to estimate how much the team still owes

Step 1: gather the contract and public data

Begin by collecting the full set of data points you will need. At minimum, gather the player's base salary schedule, the total guaranteed amount and its type, the original signing bonus and years of proration, any roster or option bonuses and their scheduled payment dates, and the dates and terms of any reported restructures. Record the source and date for each item.

Organize this data into a short table or spreadsheet with columns for item name, reported amount, guarantee type, cash due date, cap proration remaining, and source. This table is your primary working document for the calculations that follow.

How do I determine how much the Miami Dolphins still owe Tua Tagovailoa?

Separate guaranteed cash from cap accounting, gather current contract elements from team announcements and transaction logs, then apply the step-by-step method to list remaining guaranteed payments, compute prorated bonus remaining, and account for offsets, trades, or restructures.

Step 2: list remaining guaranteed payments and timing

From your table, list only the guaranteed cash that remains unpaid. For each guaranteed item, note the contractual payment date. Some guarantees are already paid; others are scheduled for future years. Add a column that converts each guaranteed item into the expected cash year. For conditional guarantees, add a note describing the trigger and do not count them as cash until evidence shows the condition was met.

When in doubt, err on the conservative side and treat ambiguous guarantees as contingent. For many readers the useful number is the minimum guaranteed cash the player will almost certainly receive, not aspirational or conditional amounts.

Step 3: calculate prorated bonus amounts and remaining cash

Identify signing bonuses and the original proration schedule. Multiply the per-year proration by the number of remaining years to find the cap proration remaining. For cash, determine whether the bonus has already been paid to the player. If it has been paid, it is not a remaining cash obligation. If it has not been paid, treat it as a lump cash obligation on the contractually specified payment date.

Use a simple formula for prorations when you need the remaining cap charge: Remaining cap proration equals per-year proration times remaining proration years. Use a simple cash formula when needed: Remaining cash equals unpaid signing bonus amounts plus unpaid roster or option bonuses plus guaranteed base salaries still scheduled to be paid.

Step 4: consider offsets, trades, and dead money

Offsets are reductions in cash a player receives if he signs with another team after being released or traded. When modeling a release or trade, identify any offset language in the guarantee clauses. For an original team, calculate dead money as the remaining prorated signing bonus and guaranteed amounts that accelerate on a release or trade. For a receiving team, check whether new guarantees are added in the trade terms.

Document any assumptions about offsets clearly. If you model a scenario in which a player signs elsewhere, show how you apply the offset. If you model a release, show which proration years accelerate into immediate dead money for the original team and which cash flows the player would still receive.

How common transactions change what the team owes

Immediate cash obligations after a release

Hypothetical example only. Suppose a player has two years left on contract, a remaining unpaid signing bonus of 6 million prorated over three years originally, and 4 million of fully guaranteed base salary next season. To estimate remaining cash you would first note whether the signing bonus has been paid. If it has been paid, it is not remaining cash. If unpaid, the full unpaid amount would be owed on its contractual payment date unless offset language applies.

For a reader estimating cash owed after a release, the key steps are to identify guarantees that remain payable regardless of employment status and to confirm whether the guarantee language allows for offsets against future earnings from a new employer.

A release can change timing without necessarily increasing total guaranteed cash payable to the player. The original team may accelerate remaining prorated bonuses into dead money for cap accounting. The player will still receive what is contractually guaranteed, but the timing and the team responsible can change depending on offsets and whether the player signs elsewhere.

Minimalist split vector showing cash flow arrows on the left and cap accounting columns on the right around a single player token comparison for miami dolphins moneyline

How trades reassign obligations and create offsets

In a trade, the original team and the receiving team often agree on how to allocate guarantees or may leave original guarantees in place while the new team assumes base salary obligations. Offset language can still apply. Practically, a trade often removes the original team's future cash obligation for base salaries, but the original team's prorated signing bonuses may remain as dead money on that team's cap sheet.

Always check the transaction terms and any contemporaneous announcements. Trades can be structured in many ways, so list assumed changes explicitly in your model and indicate which team you attribute each cash flow to when calculating who owes what after the trade.

What restructures change for cash versus cap

A restructure typically converts base salary into signing bonus or otherwise shifts timing. That can reduce near-term cap hits while increasing prorations or future cap charges, and it often changes cash timing depending on whether a signing bonus is paid immediately or deferred. Restructures do not eliminate pre-existing guarantees unless the parties agree to alter the guarantee language.

When modeling a restructure, include a before-and-after table showing cash flows and cap proration years. Highlight which guaranteed amounts are unchanged and which items were moved for cap relief so readers can see how the same total commitment may be distributed differently across years.

Common mistakes people make when estimating remaining money owed

Mixing cap hits with actual cash payments

A frequent error is treating a published cap hit as if it were the cash due that season. Cap hits are league accounting measures and can differ from cash payments because of prorations and timing differences. When estimating remaining money owed, separate the cap accounting arithmetic from the cash flow arithmetic and label which you are reporting.

One short rule to remember is this: cap hit does not equal cash due unless you confirm that the prorations and bonuses were paid or scheduled in that same cash year.

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Open the checklist

Using outdated or single-source figures

Relying on a single public report or an old summary is another common mistake. Contracts can be restructured, guarantees can vest, and clubs can add or reduce guarantees. Always cross-check sources and verify the date of any figure you use. If a report is older than the most recent transaction log or team announcement, treat it as potentially outdated.

Quick checks include comparing the reported cap hit to the latest transaction logs and searching for any team announcement that mentions a restructure or new guarantees since the report date.

Ignoring offsets, void years and guarantees

Ignoring offset language, void years, or conditional guarantees leads to overestimates or underestimates. Void years, often included for proration purposes, may not carry actual cash obligations. Offsets can reduce what the player receives if they sign elsewhere. Always read the guarantee notes and track whether guarantees are fully vested, injury-only, or conditional on roster status.

If you spot a report that lists a large future salary without noting guarantee status, flag it and do not count it as cash owed until you confirm the guarantee conditions are met.

Practical examples and hypothetical scenarios (walkthroughs)

Example: how a release would typically be calculated (hypothetical)

For cap accounting, if two proration years remain at 2 million each, a release could accelerate those 4 million into dead money for the original team. Show the arithmetic explicitly and note any assumptions about offsets or subsequent signings.

Example: how a trade could change which team pays what (hypothetical)

Hypothetical example only. In a trade, the original team might retain remaining prorations as dead money, while the receiving team takes on base salary payments. If a player has 3 million of guaranteed base salary and the receiving team agrees to pay that figure, your calculation should show the cash obligation shifting to the new team and the dead money remaining with the original team for proration amounts.

Always label the model so readers can see which team you attribute each payment to, and include a short note about assumed offsets if the trade includes clauses that alter guarantees.

How to model a restructure without asserting it happened

To model a potential restructure, create a before-and-after table in which you move part of the base salary into a signing bonus and then recompute annual cap prorations and cash flows. Make clear that this is hypothetical and that your results depend on the new amortization period and whether the signing bonus would be paid immediately or deferred.

When you publish a modeled restructure, state the exact assumptions: the amount converted, the new proration years, and whether any guarantees changed. This lets readers replace your hypothetical numbers with actual contract elements when the facts become available.

Where to check for reliable updates and how to monitor changes

Primary public sources to follow

Primary sources include team announcements, league transaction logs, and well-maintained salary trackers that publish cap hits and proration schedules. Each plays a role: team announcements disclose deal terms and guarantees, transaction logs confirm roster movement, and salary trackers synthesize cap accounting that helps you compare year-to-year effects.

Set a regular check routine tied to the transaction calendar, such as following team sites during free agency and known restructure windows, and monitor transaction logs closely around roster deadlines.

How to set up alerts and cross-checks

Use search alerts for the player's name plus terms like contract, guarantee, signed, restructured, or released. Cross-check every alert against at least two reliable reporting sources before updating your estimate. Keep a dated record of each change so you can trace how your calculation evolved as new information arrived.

For political precision in your model, always record the exact sentence from each source that mentions guarantees or payment timing, and keep a snapshot of the page or report to avoid relying on summaries that may be edited later.

A compact spreadsheet layout to record contract fields for estimation

Guaranteed amount
Signing bonus
Proration years
Roster bonus
Base salary by year
Offset language

Use this to copy figures from sources into a single working table

A simple verification checklist

Copy this short checklist before publishing any estimated figure: 1) Confirm the source and date for each contract element. 2) Mark which guarantees are unconditional. 3) Note any offsets or void years. 4) Recompute cash and cap figures and label them clearly. 5) Cross-check against a second reputable tracker.

Keeping this checklist visible as you work prevents common slip-ups and makes it easier to explain assumptions when you share an estimate.

Conclusion and next steps: how readers can get their own accurate estimate

The key takeaway is the difference between cash owed and cap obligations. Cash owed is the amount the player will receive under existing guarantees and payment schedules, while cap obligations reflect how the team spreads those payments for league accounting. Both numbers matter, but they answer different questions.

Next steps for readers: gather current sources, use the step-by-step method and the checklist provided, and label every assumption when you report a figure. Be cautious about presenting an estimate as definitive unless you can cite the original contract language or multiple corroborating announcements.

Estimating how much a team still owes a player requires methodical data gathering and transparent modeling. When you apply the steps here to Tua Tagovailoa or any other player, your output will be reproducible and easier for others to verify.

What is the difference between cash owed and cap hit?

Cash owed is the actual dollars contractually payable to the player; cap hit is the amount that counts against the team's salary cap after prorations and accounting rules.

Can a trade eliminate money a team owes?

A trade can shift base salary responsibility to a new team, but prorated signing bonuses often remain as dead money on the original team's cap unless otherwise negotiated.

Where should I look to verify reported contract changes?

Check team announcements, league transaction logs, and reputable salary trackers, and cross-check multiple sources before updating an estimate.

Apply the step-by-step checklist and the verification steps to build your own transparent estimate. When reporting your result, label whether you mean remaining cash or cap obligations and cite the sources and assumptions you used. If you want to practice systematic evaluation methods in a challenge format, consider the FundedPlays Challenges page for structured, skill-focused opportunities to test forecasting approaches using virtual funded accounts.