There is a chorus of calls for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to retire from the NFL following another frightening concussion.
In a Week 2 game against the Buffalo Bills, Tagovailoa slammed his head into the body of Bills safety Damar Hamlin and the result was ugly. Tagovailoa left the game and didn’t return.
Tua suffered a traumatic brain injury on this play, no question. His right arm shows the “fencing posture” indicating loss of consciousness & is on the severe end on the #concussion spectrum. He is done for the night and must miss the next game.pic.twitter.com/3Ur62QfBLH
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) September 13, 2024
He has a history of devastating concussions in the NFL. This is the third confirmed concussion he’s had in his 4+ years in the NFL. He also likely had another concussion during 2022 that wasn’t confirmed, which later led to the NFL overhauling its concussion protocol.
With that history, it was unsurprising when many football commentators suggested it was time for the 26-year-old to hang up the cleats.
Tagovailoa has admitted that he has considered retirement before.
However, per the NFL, last year’s passing yards leader “has no plans to retire” and will look to return to the field if doctors clear him sometime in the future.
Of course, he isn’t making a decision just yet, but he must be at least weighing retirement as an option because he did so in the past.
The day after the concussion, Tagovailoa had a 25% chance to retire from the NFL by Sept. 30, according to a market on the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform Polymarket. That was the high point, as the chances of retirement by Sept. 30 were just 4% as of Monday, Sept. 16.
If he does decide never to play another snap in the NFL, that decision almost surely won’t come by Sept. 30. However, it appears more likely that he will return.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins agreed to a four-year, $212.4 contract extension this past offseason, $167 million of which is guaranteed. If Tagovailoa is medically cleared to return but retires, he’d have to forfeit the money remaining on his contract unless he and the Dolphins can agree on an injury settlement. He’s been Miami’s starting quarterback since 2020.
The market on Tagovailoa’s retirement on Polymarket had low liquidity of roughly $20,000 wagered. Polymarket isn’t available for use in the U.S.
Markets like whether Tagovailoa will retire aren’t available at traditional NFL sports betting sites.
Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images
