Why is Xavien Howard holding out? Dolphins All-Pro CB's contract situation explained

All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard is seemingly on the verge of doing something exceedingly rare. Currently in the second year of a five-year deal, the cornerback is holding out for a renegotiation of his contract.

While such renegotiations are few and far between in the league, a few explanations have been floated to explain this glitch in the matrix.

Is Xavier Howard feeling a tad underappreciated?

According to Yahoo Sports, Xavien Howard is unhappy with his average pay per season. While his five-year deal is worth over $75 million, his average pay per season puts him out of the top ten salaries for cornerbacks each season.

In 2020, Xavien Howard is due to earn $11.97 million, which is the 15th-highest salary among cornerbacks. In 2021, Xavien Howard is expected to make $12.1 million, which falls at 11th in the list. In 2022, he is slated to make $12.97 million.

The #Dolphins are taking the field for the first practice of minicamp and star CB Xavien Howard isn't there, I'm told. Officially a holdout.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 15, 2021

According to Yahoo Sports, Xavien Howard wants to have his salary rank higher compared to other cornerbacks. However, there are some issues with this assessment.

Factors to consider for Xavien Howard

The biggest issue that comes to the fore when looking at Xavien Howard's contract on Spotrac is that his contract is set up so early, it would cost the Miami Dolphins more to cut him than to keep him.

For example, in 2020, it would cost the Miami Dolphins $20 million to cut him, but it cost around $13 million to keep him on the team.

In 2022, the Miami Dolphins will reach a point in Xavien Howard's deal when it becomes much cheaper to cut him than keep him around. This gives Miami some leverage over Xavien Howard. If the Dolphins wish to renegotiate the deal to cut his pay, they have the leverage to tell him to either accept the paycut or they can release him with only a couple million dollars guaranteed.

After 2022, Xavien Howard is only guaranteed $2.8 million if he were to be cut, while it would cost Miami somewhere in the range of $14 million per season to keep him around.

If the team runs into cap issues, they could see cutting him as an easy way to save money. That said, if his form takes a dive, the Dolphins could give in to the temptation and move him on.

These are all scenarios for 2022. Xavien Howard still has protection on his current deal in 2021. His contract currently acts as an insurance policy, giving him the freedom to hold out and potentially irk the team while keeping himself safe from losing money.

Next season, he will not have the same insurance, since the Miami Dolphins could think that Xavien Howard is too much trouble and simply move on from him and free up space on the roster.

Xavien Howard

Xavien Howard is certainly looking for more money but he's also looking for job security. He will turn 30 before his current deal expires and the market for 30-year-old cornerbacks is much smaller and riskier.

The bottom line is that Xavien Howard simply wants a safety net for as long as he can have one. It might not benefit him in the short term, but 30-year-old Howard will certainly be grateful.