Tua gives one wheelie nice Mother’s Day gift
Tua Tagovailoa was happy to surprise a special lady with a special gift this weekend.
Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback, surprised his mother Diane with a new Cadillac Escalade on Mother’s Day.
Tagovailoa shared the gift exchange on his social media accounts Sunday night.
“I know you wanted something that would be able to carry everyone,” Tagovailoa said to his mother while presenting the gift.
“This is mine?” she asked while surprised in response.
“This is yours,” he said with a smile. “So, you can go try your new ride out.”
Tagovailoa, who will wear No. 1 for the Dolphins, came to an agreement on his rookie contract with the team on
Monday.
Tagovailoa, the former Alabama standout who was the No. 5 pick in the draft on April 23, is expected to sign a four-year deal that will pay him $30,275,436 — with a signing bonus worth $19.5 million.
Tagovailoa celebrated the holiday with his family at their home in Alabama, where he has resided and participated in Dolphins offseason virtual activities since the draft.
Tagovailoa’s parents, Diane and his father Galu, have both been instrumental figures in his life, which he expressed shortly after being drafted by the Dolphins last month.
“It was very emotional for me and my family. It hasn’t just been a dream of mine to make this happen, it’s been my entire family’s dream,” Tagovailoa said. “I’m blessed to say that I carry all of them here with me.”
The Dolphins, who did medically clear him, won’t clarify his status until they’re able to get him in their facility for an examination and workouts, and the coronavirus pandemic has not allowed that at this point because team facilities are closed, and travel has been restricted.
Tagovailoa became the fifth member of the Dolphins’ 11-player draft class to to sign or agree to his rookie deal, joining offensive guard Solomon Kindley, defensive linemen Jason Strowbridge and Curtis Wearer and long snapper Blake Ferguson. The Dolphins signed second-round pick defensive tackle Raekwon Davis to his rookie contract later in the day.
The Dolphins’ total pool of funds needed to sign their 2020 draft class is $17,517,278, but less than $14 million will be needed in cap space because only the top-51 salaries on the team’s 90-player training camp roster counts against the salary cap.
The Dolphins had roughly $28 million in cap space after releasing defensive end Taco Charlton, who was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, the trade that sent pass rusher Charles Harris to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2021 seventhround pick, and the restructuring of receiver Albert Wilson’s contract, which trimmed his 2020 salary from $9.5 million to a max of $4 million.