Tyreek Hill's goal: ‘Ensuring I'm a Dolphin for life'
MIAMI GARDENS — Tyreek Hill wants to be paid.
Tyreek Hill wants to retire as a Dolphin.
What happens if the two should become mutually exclusive? What’s his priority?
“Ensuring I’m a Dolphin for life,” Hill said Tuesday after watching the team run through the first of three minicamp practices.
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“That’s priority No. 1, man,” said Hill, 30. “This is obviously the best situation for myself and the family. I don’t think it could get any better.”
As soon as he was traded from Kansas City to Miami two years ago, Hill received a four-year, $120 million contract from the Dolphins. But this week, Minnesota gave All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson a four-year extension worth $35 million per season. So Jefferson is making $5 million more per year than Hill.
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has had discussions with the Dolphins now that the market for elite wide receivers has been reset.
“Oh, it’s a great day in the Hill household, man,” Hill said of Jefferson’s deal. “Everybody waking up happy. Wife waking up happy. My oldest son waking up happy.”
Hill said he’ll let Rosenhaus handle the business side.
“My job is, obviously, to come out here and continue to do whatever I can to help this team win, whether that’s a restructure, whether that’s whatever the case may be,” Hill said. “We want to make sure it benefits both sides and I want to be able to help the team as much as I can.”
Of course, there’s a limit to how much the Dolphins can shell out. They just signed receiver Jaylen Waddle to a three-year deal worth $84.75 million. They’re working on an extension for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that would take the largest bite out of the salary cap.
“Obviously, we already know, being greedy ain’t gonna help the team,” Hill said.
But there’s a limit to how far Hill is willing to go to meet the Dolphins.
Hill was the team MVP again last season when he had 1,799 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns to lead the league. He has made the Pro Bowl every year since entering the league in 2016. He believes his salary should always rank among the top five in the league.
Hill used an unlikely analogy to make that point.
“I feel like at the end of the day, if you feel like you’re top five at something — that’s like if you work at Amazon, if you’re, like, one of the best Amazon delivery drivers, you’re gonna feel a certain type of way. You’re gonna go to your boss and say, ‘Hey, bruh, I’m doing 100 routes and this person is only doing 65 routes. I’m supposed to be the top-paid person.’ You feel me?”
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: Tyreek Hill's goal: ‘Ensuring I'm a Dolphin for life'
