I don’t think there’s a Miami Dolphins fan alive who wouldn’t say that Tyreek Hill has been the best and most consistent player on this team over the last few seasons. He’s been either the best or second-best wide receiver and the Dolphins’ most powerful weapon over the last few seasons. When Miami signed Hill, they gave him a huge deal that made him the highest-paid receiver in the entire league. While his average salary per season was by far the highest in the NFL, it has since been surpassed. While the annual average of Hill’s contract was surpassed, that fact doesn’t even take into account the money subsequently invested in the final year of the contract. The final season of Hill’s contract, 2026, gives him a salary cap hit of $56.3 million. All parties involved in the contract were clear when the deal was signed that the Dolphins had no intention of ever paying Hill that much money in the final year of the contract.
Now that Hill has publicly expressed his desire to rework his contract to be more in line with the highest-paid players at his position, the Dolphins have a decision to make. Miami has to decide whether to give Tyreek even more money over the life of his current deal or give him an extension that will pay him more money on average. Hill will enter this season at age 30 and coming off his best season in the NFL. Given his age, it’s a little difficult to decide how many years Hill will stay at his best, but it’s safe to assume that barring a serious injury, he’ll be at least a “serviceable” wide receiver for a few more seasons. The Dolphins have to decide if he’ll stay anywhere near as good as he is now or just an effective receiver before they decide to extend him or even just increase his average salary per season on his current contract. If Hill starts to decline, the team won’t want to keep paying him like he’s one of the best players in the game.
If I were the Dolphins’ GM, I’d bring him in, give him a contract extension that increases his average salary, and work out a deal where I can leave after a few seasons without serious salary cap impact. I know I asked earlier what the team should do with Hill, but today’s question will be more about a contract extension. Hill wants more money, but also now says he wants to continue playing in Miami now and in the future. While he has stated in the past that he would retire sooner rather than later, that sentiment has seemingly been replaced by one that he wants to play as long as he can and do so in South Florida. I suspect that with his countless children (10 with 4 wives; 1 more on the way with his wife), Hill wants to make as much money as possible for as long as possible because that can’t be cheap. The main benefit to the team would not only be that Hill stays happy, but they would also have more salary cap space for the here and now.
So today’s question of the day is not specifically about giving Hill more money, because we’ve already discussed that, but rather: If you were the GM of the Dolphins, would you give Hill a contract extension? If so, for how long and how much would you pay him over that period? Would you take a look at the deal yourself and how would you structure it to hopefully benefit the Dolphins?
Please share your thoughts and answers in the comments section below.
