MIAMI GARDENS — It’s a gamble.

It’s a no-brainer.

It’s …

Fact is, there’s no telling right now how to classify the monster contract the Miami Dolphins just handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Some will say it’s a gamble because no matter what, the Dolphins just entered a marriage with their franchise quarterback from which there is no divorce. The $167 million in guaranteed money says so.

More: Miami Dolphins sign Tua Tagovailoa to long-term contract extension

It’s not just the Dolphins as an organization tied at the surgically repaired hip to Tagovailoa, either. General manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel have placed their futures in Tagovailoa’s left hand, too.

That’s not all. Owner Stephen Ross will be 88 when this four-year, $212.4 million contract runs its course. Remember, a man running for president seven years younger than that just got ushered aside from this election cycle.

Ross ultimately signed off on the deal, and the checks, largely on the strength of 17 games in 2023 in which Tagovailoa showed no signs of an injury history that had everyone on edge.

Jay Cutler, Brock Osweiler reminders of long search for QB savior

So how is this a no-brainer?

Need anyone be reminded that the infamous 24-year playoff-win drought almost directly corresponds with how long this franchise has been taking a swing at a quarterback and almost always whiffing? What in the name of Jay Cutler and Brock Osweiler and Daunte “I’m not Drew Brees” Culpepper were they supposed to do? Let the most promising talent post-Marino walk?

It would have been a PR disaster the likes of which this franchise has never seen. (And remember, this is the team that spent second-round picks on QBs Josh Rosen and Pat White.) Take the riot we just witnessed at the Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium, multiply it by 10, and you might be on the right track.

There was no way to know it at the time, but the moment the 2022 season ended, the Dolphins were boxed into the biggest pickle they could ever face. Here’s why:

Tagovailoa had missed four games, largely because of concussions, and briefly considered retiring. Instead he rebuilt his body, adding bulk, and made it through all 17 games in 2023. It’s some evidence he can do it, but a minuscule sample size, to be sure.

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the time for fact-finding was ending.

“Pick a guy and let it fly.” No less an expert than Dan Marino likes to say that. Never has it been more applicable than what the Dolphins just did with Tagovailoa.

Will Tua Tagovailoa's contract prove to be money well spent?

Now that the deal is done, the next four years will offer fodder for one side or the other. We just don’t know which one.

Tagovailoa takes the Dolphins to the promised land?

Money well spent! Tear up the deal and lock him up for the rest of his career!

Tagovailoa regresses?

It’ll be another election cycle before the squawking ceases.

Tagovailoa (heaven forbid) gets hurt?

Let’s not even go there.

Perhaps we can all agree that at least this saga is over with. The Dolphins and Tagovailoa and his reps must be commended for the manner in which it played out. Too often these negotiations turn ugly. Grier and Tagovailoa set out to keep it classy till the end and lived up to that promise.

Certainly, things turned odd while Tagovailoa staged one of the most curious hold-ins in NFL history. He was participating on a limited basis, then not lifting a finger, then, abruptly, back at work Friday morning as if nothing was amiss.

This was no hold-in. It was a hold-on.

What's wrong with QB pay scale?

Along the way, one thing Tagovailoa made clear was that he simply deserved “market value” for a franchise quarterback, which he had every right to expect. The strange part about the latest dominoes to fall in QB salaries is that the per-year pay now has Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence at $55 million, Tagovailoa next at $53.1 million, followed by Jared Goff ($53M), Justin Herbert ($52.5M) and Lamar Jackson ($52M). Anything seem off about this list? It should. Total number of rings represented: zero.

Tagovailoa and his family should be celebrating today. So should Patrick Mahomes. Four years ago, he signed that 10-year deal for $450 million that’s mind-boggling. As in, why’d he settle for only $45 million per?

More: How does Tua Tagovailoa contract compare with Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts?

But hey, that’s Kansas City’s problem. Ours is now solved.

Tua Tagovailoa isn’t going anywhere.

He’s now on the hook to take the Dolphins, well, everywhere.

He’s still under the microscope. One side gets to say I told you so. Someday.

We just don’t know which one.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Re-signing Tua Tagovailoa a move the Miami Dolphins had to make