Ryan Tannehill's mega-deal has been completed.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback signed an extension through the 2020 season, the team announced Monday. The 26-year-old is the first of the big four from the 2012 draft class (Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson) to solidify a second deal.
According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the four-year extension includes $77 million in new money. The Dolphins now have their quarterback under contract for $95 million over six years in total. $25 million is fully guaranteed, with $45 million in "guarantees" over the life of the deal. (Tannehill has to be on the roster to earn those guarantees.) Â
The numbers could very well be a launching pad for Luck, who is working on an extension of his own. In the immediate future, it may put pressure on the Seahawks to get a deal done with Wilson.
Tannehill capitalized on a career-best 2014 season which included new personal highs in completion percentage, touchdowns (27) and yards (4,045). Armed with a slew of new targets, the team hopes that his trajectory will continue.
The move marks the second time Mike Tannenbaum, the team's new executive vice president of football operations, has overseen a hefty extension for a young quarterback coming off a solid year -- the last was Mark Sanchez with the Jets. While the deal was thought by Tannenbaum to be reasonable considering the market value of a quarterback at the time, it tethered a player to a franchise for a few years longer than anyone hoped. It also contributed to a divorce between the former Jets GM and the franchise.
Of course, Tannehill is not Sanchez. In offensive coordinator Bill Lazor's scheme, Tannehill's looking like a future top-10 player at the position. After a shaky start to his career, he's one of the few cases of a team being rewarded with patience and faith in steady progress.
All of this amounts to one thing for the Dolphins in 2015: Pressure.
Lazor will be under pressure to continue Tannehill's development and Joe Philbin will be under pressure to manage a team that has lofty expectations in a dangerous division.
Tannehill will now be under pressure to live up to the deal, especially with Jordan Cameron, rookie first-round pick DeVante Parker, Greg Jennings, Kenny Stills and Jarvis Landry at his disposal.
It is without question the most talent he's had around him, and the best team on paper that Philbin has ever coached.
For now, the Dolphins' brain trust can go into this season with the feeling that everything is in front of them and the future is bright. Tannehill has a high upside at an Andy Dalton price tag. What's not to like?
Should he not perform, though, the pressure could end up giving way to a very different-looking team and coaching staff in 2016.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast welcomes Lindsay Rhodes to discuss the Patriots' response in the "Deflategate" saga and the latest names revealed on the "The Top 100 Players of 2015" countdown. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
