Those who had six years for $96 million with $45 million guaranteed.

If instant reactions on Twitter are any indication -- and in what situation are they not -- the jury is still out on Tannehill’s prospects as a starting quarterback in the National Football League. The jury isn’t out in a typical fashion, though, by a large group mostly being undecided or indifferent. Opinions on Tannehill are split amongst many analysts around the game. Some believe he is a young, improving quarterback who is already above average. Others see an average at best player who can't completely carry an offense by himself if needed.

The Dolphins coaching staff and front office appear to be in the former camp, and good for Tannehill. We all wish our employers thought highly of our performance at work regardless of the job we might actually be doing. Most of us aren’t NFL quarterbacks and most of us don’t get a swing of millions of dollars depending on how our employers view that performance.

Tannehill, though, is a quarterback, and millions of dollars were on the line for his performance evaluation. The question now is whether that evaluation was correct. We can take a look at the production so far through our Chase Stuart noted the Dolphins are 4-20 since 2012 when the defense allows 21 points or more. Meanwhile, they’re 20-5 when allowing 21 or less. Those are decisions led by the play of the offense.

The Market

This becomes another deal worked into the middle tier of current NFL quarterbacks. Tannehill has now joined the group along with Alex Smith, structured in the new age “pay-as-you-go” layout with most of the $45 million guaranteed in the early years of the contract. With the addition of a few million dollars, the Dolphins basically fully guaranteed the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the latter of which would have been the fifth-year option that was already picked up at $16.2 million. As the deal gets further along, the cap hit increases but the guaranteed money decreases, which brings the “this is team friendly because they can cut bait with him if he doesn’t perform” argument into play.

We’ve seen these arguments now with Smith, Dalton, and sixth highest average salary in the league for quarterbacks. That won’t be the ranking for long as the growing salary cap will help correct that market with new deals.

Is It Worth It?

None of this means Tannehill can’t become an above-average starter. It just means the current state -- the one Miami signed on Monday -- isn’t there yet. If there’s a flaw in this extension, it’s Miami’s urgency in getting a deal done now. Tannehill still had this season left on his rookie contract, as well as the fifth-year option that was picked up for the 2016 season. With two more full seasons under team control, the Dolphins should have had all the leverage in these negotiations. They get the public perception on their side with the “pay-as-you-go” plan, but realistically Miami could have waited at least another year to see if Tannehill had the breakout that has been expected.

Aside from spending the GDP of a small country to acquire Ndamukong Suh in free agency, the Dolphins spent much of the offseason bringing in a new supporting cast for Tannehill on offense. Out was Mike Wallace, who never truly clicked with the quarterback. In was Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings, DeVante Parker, and Jordan Cameron.

With so much turnover, it would be nice to see how Tannehill adjusts in 2015 and if the offense can finish better than its 12th-place ranking in schedule-adjusted NEP per play last season. If he doesn’t improve, the Dolphins still could have played out the option year to get a full five-year sample of who Tannehill is. The other side is if Tannehill stakes another step forward and increases his market value. With the Dolphins already investing this much into their quarterback, it’s hard to imagine they would push back on a few extra million if Tannehill’s play on the field actually earned it.

The Dolphins now have to hope Tannehill develops into this deal. Hope is a great thing to have in the world, but it’s a dangerous thing to base NFL contracts on.