By Around the NFL staff
The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines.
“On behalf of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Board of Directors, we congratulate Tua on a historic season,” said Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Chairman, Jesse Sapolu. “He is a tremendous role model and a source of great pride for Polynesians everywhere.”
Tagovailoa, who is of Samoan descent, is coming off his first Pro Bowl season having produced 4,624 yards to become the league’s passing champion in 2023. He also generated career-highs in passing touchdowns (29), completions (388) and completion percentage (69.3%) in his fourth NFL season. Tagovailoa became the first Dolphins QB to lead the league in passing since Hall of Famer Dan Marino did it in 1992 with 4,116 yards.
Tagovailoa, 25, joins Mike Iupati, Marcus Mariota, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ronnie Stanley, DeForest Buckner and Talanoa Hufunga as those who have won the Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year since it was introduced in 2015.