The Miami Dolphins have several significant deadlines lingering in the next two and a half weeks.

It’s going to be a fascinating stretch of time for the infancy of this version of the franchise. Miami is juggling several initiatives — scouting prospects, shopping veterans, and trying to install a new football operation all together. It’s a lot. But the financial details can help make the decision for several players whose future is uncertain. The deadline for several of those players is closer than you think. Here are four players with notable financial dates needing action by middle of March.

Major contract deadlines loom in less than three weeks for the Miami Dolphins

March 13th: $3 million of Tua Tagovailoa’s 2027 salary vests, becomes fully guaranteed

Tua Tagovailoa appears destined to play somewhere else this upcoming season. The biggest part of Miami’s decision is if they’re willing to accept additional sunk cost in their bid to find a trade partner. If Miami feels they can successfully manipulate and pay enough of his contract to create a trade, they can easily hold him past March 13th because, at that point, someone else would be on the hook for the $3 million in 2027 fully guaranteed money that locks into place. If they don’t feel a trade is possible, they could register a Post-June 1st designated cut between March 11th and March 13th to avoid paying an additional $3 million. Given what they’re already on the hook for, the Dolphins may also view $3 million as a negligible extra amount, too. But $3 million is still $3 million.

March 13th: $1 million roster bonus is due to OT Austin Jackson

This is the big one. This is a check Miami must be willing to cut and pay out by the end of the first week of the league year next month. Is Jackson in the team’s plans? If the answer is yes, then carry on. If the answer is no, then the team will probably hope to have a trade in place before this date to avoid paying out a portion of a salary for a player who won’t be here this season. Maybe there’s a willingness to “buy down” Jackson’s $11.5 million salary and get better compensation in a trade. This is also a talking point for Tua Tagovailoa and Miami did the same for Jalen Ramsey last summer. At some point, the Dolphins need to stop paying players to play for other teams. If Miami plans to release Jackson, it will be done before March 13th in part because of the $1 million roster bonus that is due (and not fully guaranteed).

March 13th: $500k roster bonus is due to K Jason Sanders

Sanders missed all of 2025 with a preseason hip injury. He’s currently one of seven NFL kickers set to collect north of $4 million in compensation for 2026 — and a half a million of that is owed up front of March 13th. Sanders feels like a viable cap casualty given the opportunity cost of $4.25 million in compensation for a specialist; so we should know Miami’s plans for the kicker based on if they pay this bonus out or not. It is not guaranteed money and Miami could save it outright by releasing him.

March 15th: $15.2 million of Jaylen Waddle’s 2027 salary vests, becomes fully guaranteed

This one is a bit of a formality. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has entered into the “rolling guarantees” chapter of his contract extension with Miami. Waddle will see two-thirds of his 2027 salary fully guarantee (it is currently guaranteed for injury) before the final balance of his 2027 compensation becomes fully guaranteed in March of 2027. Waddle is a valuable player and the Dolphins will probably receive phone calls with interest for his services this spring — but a trade here is no sure thing.