Examining How Big a Deal the Breece Hall Contract Is for the Dolphins

Nothing has happened since the 2026 NFL draft to change the outlook that the Miami Dolphins eventually will be giving team MVP De'Von Achane a contract extension at some point this offseason, but it never was going to be a simple process.

And that process got perhaps a bit more complicated Friday when fellow running back Breece Hall got his own contract extension from the New York Jets and it could get more complicated still because of the looming extensions coming to Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs from the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, respectively.

Remember this famous quote, "The market is the market"?

This might come into play at some point, and the more contracts get signed by top-end running backs this offseason, the more expensive it could become to extend Achane.

Hall's extension reportedly was three for years and $45.75 million and includes $29 million in guarantees.

We probably should consider that a starting point when it comes to what Achane's agent, Leah Knight, will be seeking from the Dolphins.

ASKING PRICE COULD GET HIGHER

Not that the Pro Bowl should be used as the ultimate evaluation tool anymore (if it ever could), but Achane was among the three running backs on the AFC roster last season along with James Cook of the Buffalo Bills and Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, and it's not a stretch to suggest he's a better player than Hall right now.

Both are very young running backs, Hall turning 25 later this month and Achane joining him at that same age in October. But Hall did have a torn ACL early in his career, whereas Achane has yet to have a significant injury.

So, again, Hall's contract likely will be used as a starting point for Achane.

But Gibbs and Robinson also figure to be looking for more than what Hall got because they're also objectively more productive and dynamic running backs.

Whether either or both are better than Achane is subjective, but from here we'd put Robinson first among the three and Gibbs and Achane maybe on the same level.

Hall's contract moved him to third among running backs in terms of annual average, according to Over The Cap, with Saquon Barkley ($20.6 million) and Christian McCaffrey ($19M) holding the top two spots.

In terms of guarantees, Hall moved to fourth behind 2026 third overall pick Jeremiyah Love of the Arizona Cardinals ($53 million), Barkley ($36M) and 2025 fifth overall selection Ashton Jeanty ($35.9M).

Again, we have to go back to "The market is the market."

Robinson and Gibbs figure to be asking for an annual average somewhere in the Barkley/McCaffrey vicinity, which means Achane also figures to be looking at something north of $16-17 million, if not more.

GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said at draft time that Achane was not available via trade, with the idea being to make sure he remains a key part of the organization moving forward.

It's a sound idea, but it's not going to be cheap for the Dolphins.

The Hall deal made it a bit more expensive, and it's going to keep going in that direction if Gibbs and Robinson sign before Achane.

THE BAD TIMING ISSUE

Time is of the essence, without question, though this is where the Dolphins' bad cap situation becomes a factor. Miami currently sits at $1.8 million of cap space, per OTC, and there's really no other way to bring down Achane's number with an extension, considering his cap hit went down to only $2.3 million with a restructure that converted base salary into a signing bonus.

This means the Dolphins will have to wait until June and Bradley Chubb's $20 million of cap space hitting their books before they realistically can get that Achane extension done.

In the meantime, the Dolphins have to hope everything stays silent on the Gibbs and Robinson fronts. That could become a bigger problem for them than the Hall extension.

Add us as a preferred source on Google