Tua Tagovailoa’s Tattoos: Decoding Dolphins QB’s Special Gesture for Son Ace

From NFL milestones to stepping into fatherhood, Tua Tagovailoa’s tattoos have a record of everything. Each ink on his right shoulder and left arm has its own story to tell about his life, roots, heritage, culture, and personal milestones.

Among all the tattoos, the one that stands out is the second piece on his left arm and shoulder–which is dedicated to his first child, a son, named Ace. 

“There’s a lot of things that go on behind it, a lot of cultural significance, a lot of things that have to do with protection, guidance, sort of things like that that we believe in the Samoan culture, so that’s what it is,” Tua said 

In Tua’s Samoan culture, tattoos have deeper meanings and the Miami Dolphins QB’s traditional Polynesian patterns represent the same.

These motifs often indicate family, rank, societal roles, strength, protection, and spiritual guidance, as laid down by the Samoan tribe. 

Going by this, all the Tua’s tattoos are dedicated to his unique cultural identity of the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands.

Since the QB has time and time again been vocal about how important his family and Samoan heritage are to him, these tattoos perfectly mirror his commitment.

Unfortunately, last year, just three months into the NFL season, Tua’s arm-sleeve tattoo suffered ugly damage.

Tagovailoa suffered an injury on his meaningful tattoo 

Last November, Tagovailoa was injured during the historic first-ever Black Friday game in the first quarter of the game against the New York Jets.

As he suffered a large gash on his right arm, his skin was split open–which completely marred his newly acquired arm-sleeve tattoo–the one dedicated to his first child in sync with the elements of Samoan culture.  Although Tua had been through a lot with his concussions in 2022, this loss hit close to home.

Later, as the wound healed after multiple stitches, the tattoo was probably retouched to restore its original form. Well, much like Tua himself– his tattoo put up with a blow but remained intact.