MIAMI — The Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have agreed to a four-year, $212.4 million extension, his agency told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the largest contract in franchise history.

The new deal includes $167 million guaranteed.

Both sides had been negotiating a deal since the 2023 season ended but the team kept consistent communication with Tagovailoa’s representatives at Athletes First.

Tagovailoa becomes the third quarterback to sign an extension this offseason, following Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence with the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.

Since Dan Marino retired before the 2000 season, the Dolphins have struggled at the quarterback position. Twenty-five players, including Tagovailoa, have started at least one game for the Dolphins since the turn of the century. Only one of those players, former first-round pick Ryan Tannehill, signed a multiyear extension with the team.

The expectation from the beginning was for Tagovailoa to end that plight, when the Dolphins selected him No. 5 overall in 2020 and made him their highest-drafted quarterback since 1980. His career got off to a modest, then concerning start; his year-over-year numbers improved in each of his first three seasons, but he also missed 9 games due to injury, which included two diagnosed concussions during the 2022 season.

Tagovailoa turned in a career year in 2023, however, leading the NFL with 4,624 passing yards and setting a career-high with 29 touchdown passes. He also played in every game for the first time in his NFL career, en route to being named the AFC’s starting quarterback in his first Pro Bowl appearance.

Now in his third season with Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the expectations for Tagovailoa are even higher – starting with winning the franchise’s first playoff game since the 2000 season.