When the Denver Broncos cut ties with Russell Wilson in 2024, they made the kind of NFL history no team wants.
When the Broncos released Wilson last year, they incurred a dead-cap charge of $49.6 million, which ranks as the biggest in league history.
But that record may not stand for much longer after the Miami Dolphins reportedly decided to bench quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, with the team turning to rookie Quinn Ewers instead.
"A major move in Miami: the Dolphins are benching QB Tua Tagovailoa and turning to Quinn Ewers as their new starting QB, per sources," ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote.
With Tua heading to the bench, it goes without saying that his future in Miami is extremely shaky and it stands to reason the two sides could part ways next year.
The problem for Miami is they don't have a lot of avenues to do so.
No team is going to trade for Tagovailoa because of his massive $212 million contract and seeing as how he's clearly a shell of the player he was just a few years ago.
That means Miami will have to straight up release Tagovailoa if they want him gone in 2026, which would incur a dead-cap charge that would shatter Wilson's historic figure, even if the Dolphins utilize the post-June 1 designation.
If cut pre-June 1, Tagovailoa would be on the Dolphins' books for a whopping $99.2 million dead-cap charge in 2025, according to Over The Cap.
A post-June 1 release would bring that number down to $67.4 million, but that's still nearly $18 million more than what it cost the Broncos to part with Wilson.
Now, the Dolphins shattering the Broncos' record would not erase the disaster that was Wilson's contract, but at least it will get knocked down a peg if Miami cuts Tagovailoa.
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