When the Dolphins traded quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the Titans in March, Tannehill slashed his base pay from $18.75 million to $7 million, with the opportunity to earn more than $5 million in incentives. He has unlocked most of that cash. But he’ll get even more than that, soon.
Via Ian Rapoport of the NFL, Tannehill’s performance in 2019 triggered another $3.425 million in incentives, pushing his total pay for the year to $10.42 million -- $5 million of which was paid by the Dolphins.
But that’s just the tip of the financial iceberg. At $10.42 million, Tannehill is getting less than 33 percent of what the best quarterbacks make, even though his 117.5 passer rating led the league (and was the fourth highest of all time). Come March, he’ll get either the franchise tag ($26 million or so) or a long-term deal, from the Titans or someone else either via the open market or the transition tag.
And that’s where it gets very interesting for the Titans. Running back Derrick Henry has had the greatest three-game run in league history, and he’s only one or two games away from free agency. The Titans will have to choose between Henry and Tannehill for the franchise tag.
Like the Cowboys (Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper) and the Buccaneers (Jameis Winston and Shaquil Barrett), the Titans also may be rooting for no new labor deal before the start of the new league year, since that would give them the opportunity to use both one franchise tag and one transition tag.
Either way, Tannehill will be making much more than $10.42 million in 2020. And he deserves it.