Tua Tagovailoa Spent $1.65 Million of His $30 Million Rookie Contract on a Miami Mansion

When professional athletes first leave the ranks of amateurs, some go out and make big purchases. They’re filled with both excitement and newfound spending power after signing that first rookie contract. After putting ink to paper on a four-year, $30.3 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him at No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, Tua Tagovailoa followed suit.

Fortunately, the mansion the incoming quarterback purchased isn’t too far away from the Dolphins’ practice facility.

Tua Tagovailoa purchasing a Miami mansion

The Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $30.3 million deal that included a $19.6 million signing bonus. The incoming rookie then decided to purchase a home for himself in Miami, per Dolphin Nation.

The then-22-year-old acquired a 5,200-square-foot home near the team’s practice facility in South Florida. The house has six bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, and a pool. Tagovailoa reportedly spent $1.6 million on the house.

That’s not bad for a rookie’s first home. But even better, he decided to spend around $30,000 on gym equipment for his garage. That way, he could get in a workout without leaving the premises.

Tagovailoa also made sure to hire a financial adviser to help him spend his monetary haul wisely. That way, he doesn’t go down the well-traveled route that, over the years, has seen many athletes fail to manage their money properly. Instead, he secured someone who could track his expenses and ensure he’s making smart decisions.

At Alabama, Tua Tagovailoa put himself in a good position to get paid

There was a reason Tua Tagovailoa was a top-five pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Dolphins selected him after an impressive career at Alabama that allowed him to firmly establish himself as a winner.

As a true freshman in 2017, he was the backup quarterback behind Jalen Hurts but saw some notable playing time and made the most of that time on the field.

He replaced Hurts in the second half of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Georgia and immediately impacted the proceedings. Tagovailoa threw the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime and finished the contest with 166 passing yards and three touchdowns. He was named the Offensive MVP as Alabama won its 17th national championship.

Tagovailoa served as the full-time starting quarterback during his sophomore and junior years. In 15 games as a second-year signal-caller, he threw for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns while rushing for 190 yards and five more touchdowns. Though he didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, he won the Walter Camp Award and the Maxwell Award, and he was also named the SEC Player of the Year and an All-American.

The lefty returned for his junior season, but that campaign ended prematurely after he dislocated his hip. He played nine games that year and threw for 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns, which was still more than enough to pique Miami’s interest.