Kelly: No new contract, no team drills for Tua | Opinion

Don’t let anyone mislead you with their optimistic malarkey, nice guys finish last in this world, especially when it comes to business.

So just imagine how nice guys get treated in professional sports, where usually the fiercest, the strongest thrive.

Tua Tagovailoa is one of the nicest athletes — if not humans — I’ve come across in my 20-plus years of covering sports, and you better believe the Miami Dolphins fully intend to use that against him during the team’s negotiations for a long-term extension.

The Dolphins know Tagovailoa is a company man, which is why they are convinced he will eventually take a team-friendly deal that isn’t market value for his position.

That perception is why Tagovailoa needs to shelve himself for training camp until a deal he’s comfortable with is put on the table because a hold-in is the last bullet in his chamber when it comes to these contract negotiations, which began in March and will likely carryover to Wednesday’s start of training camp practices.

Blame it on whatever you would like — Miami’s cap crisis, agents trying to avoid embarrassment, market inflation — but five months should be enough time time to agree on multiyear extension for the franchise’s quarterback, a Pro Bowler who has led the NFL in passer rating and yards thrown for in his two seasons of working with head coach Mike McDaniel.

The Dolphins possess one of the NFL’s most potent offenses the past two years, finally have a healthy team culture, and Miami’s decision makers aren’t doing what it takes to ensure the Dolphins’ Super Bowl window stays open for the next three seasons by signing their trigger man to a multiyear extension, which will make Tagovailoa the highest-paid player in franchise history.

The Dolphins are seemingly balking at the price of what it takes to lock up a franchise quarterback, which is an annual salary that’s north of $43 million a season, even though other NFL teams are giving less-accomplished quarterbacks extensions (not entire contracts) that average $50 million a season.

That’s why Tagovailoa needs to take a stand and watch, instead of participating in training camp’s practices.

There’s no need to skip these sessions because any NFL player who doesn’t show up for work is subjected to a $50,000-per-day fine for skipping practices because of the new CBA rules that govern the league for the next six seasons.

However, players who do attend don’t have to participate in practice, which is why we’re in the era of NFL hold-ins. As long as the player shows up for work and attends meetings, he’s fine. Players can’t hold out, but they can decide if, when, and how much they practice during training camp while business gets handled.

“The knowns are that Tua’s representation and our front office are negotiating a contract. As a player, Tua, and myself as a coach, what should our focus be on?” McDaniel said in June when asked about the possibility Tagovailoa could hold-in during training camp. “Right, wrong or indifferent, we’re going to be held accountable for the ultimate product. Whatever way you want to see it, the piper has to be paid”

And so does Tagovailoa, either now, or next year, when Miami might be forced to use the franchise or transition tag to retain him. That decision would handcuff Miami’s finances for the 2025 offseason, and that’s when the leverage shifts in Tagovailoa’s favor.

Demanding a trade like former Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard did before the starter of training camp in 2021 when he wanted his deal reworked because he was making less than fellow cornerback Byron Jones would be taking things too far.

Tagovailoa has seen what life is like on the other side, during the Brian Flores era, so the last thing he wants to do is mess up his sweet situation.

But he does need his money, and must find a way to get general manager Chris Grier and the money people’s attention.

Tagovailoa can go about this three ways.

He can attend training camp and not work till a deal gets done.

That’s the route quarterback Jordan Love, who is set to make $11 million this season and shares the same agency as Tagovailoa, is taking in Green Bay until the Packers come correct with an extension.

Tagovailoa can do what he did during the offseason program, which is limit his participation to position drills and 7-on-7 work, skipping all the team (11-on-11) drills. That approach might stifle the offense’s growth and team chemistry.

Or he can do what defensive lineman Christian Wilkins did last camp when he was in a similar position to Tagovailoa, being asked to play on a fifth-year option while a multiyear deal was being negotiated.

Wilkins dominated during the first two weeks of training camp, proving that he was ready to be a force in 2023, and he was, producing 10 sacks. But Wilkins shut it down for the final three weeks of training camp, training on his own while his agent and the Dolphins worked on a deal that never came.

Wilkins left the Dolphins this past offseason, signing a four-year, $110 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders that will pay him $28 million a season during the next three years in guaranteed money.

The Dolphins made a business decision, and so did Wilkins, a three-year captain and the tone-setter for last year’s team.

In sports, if a player holds out he’s selfish.

But if a team doesn’t want to pay a player their market value then the organization is being smart, perceived to be doing the wise thing.

We will learn exactly how tough Tagovailoa can be in the coming days, if not weeks.

But this is a perfect opportunity for him to show he’s about his business, flipping the table over, proving that he’s not some pushover.