Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller is now the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, thanks to a six-year, $114.5 million contract that includes nearly $70 million in guarantees the Super Bowl MVP signed Friday afternoon, shortly before the deadline for long-term deals for franchise-tagged players.
A person familiar with the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal had not been announced, told USA TODAY Sports of the financial details.
The Super Bowl 50 MVP and the Broncos had been engaged in often-contentious contract negotiations over the past several months, ever since the team placed the franchise tag – which came with a one-year salary of $14.129 million – on Miller in March. That salary was well below market value for a player of Miller’s caliber, after he racked up 60 sacks in his first five seasons. His value sky-rocketed after a stellar 2015 postseason in which he recorded five sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception during Denver’s Super Bowl run.
FOR LIFE pic.twitter.com/ayvzpJ1WZh
— Von Miller (@Millerlite40) July 15, 2016
The negotiations turned nasty in June after news of the Broncos’ overall offer of six years and $114 million, but with less than $40 million in guarantees, leaked to the media. That tactic upset the normally upbeat Miller, who went on to first crop Broncos general manager John Elway out of a picture from the team’s trip to the White House, and then say he would not play the season under the franchise tag.
Plenty of players in the past have threatened to sit out, but Miller was in a rare position to actually use that tactic as true bargaining leverage. Because the Broncos used the exclusive franchise tag on Miller, if he chose not to play in 2016 the team could not use the exclusive tag again next year, which would allow other teams to offer Miller a free agent contract next spring and only have to give up a first and third-round pick if the Broncos failed to match.
Recent massive free agent deals to players like defensive end Olivier Vernon (with an average salary of $17 million from the New York Giants) or defensive tackle Fletcher Cox ($17.1 million per year from the Philadelphia Eagles, with more than $63 million in guarantees) only drove up Miller’s price tag. And Miller experienced a massive boost in off-field fame this offseason, appearing on Dancing with the Stars and jet-setting around the country for appearances at award shoes and commercial shoots while he was away from his team.
But the Broncos sweetened their offer late last week by dramatically increasing the guaranteed money available to Miller in the first three years of the deal, though it took some haggling over language and structure on Friday afternoon before the deal was signed.
Any hurt feelings sustained in the negotiation process should be history. Now Miller can shift his focus back to football, with 12 days left until players report for training camp.
Having Miller happy and back under contract is huge for a Denver team that won the Super Bowl last year on the back of the league’s best defense – and will likely need a similar defensive effort to win again in 2016 as the team faces uncertainty at quarterback.
Miller is not just one of the league’s best pure pass rushers, but he also is one of the NFL’s most unique and dynamic defensive players, with the ability to also drop in pass coverage (see his interception of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady while covering tight end Rob Gronkowski in the AFC Championship Game), play run defense and even spy a mobile quarterback, as he did at times early in the Super Bowl against NFL MVP Cam Newton.
He’s also one of the most popular players on the Broncos’ roster because of his boisterous personality, and his absence was noticeable during the spring as he boycotted offseason workouts. Had the Broncos and Miller failed to get a new deal done by Friday, and if that were to have led Miller to hold out from training camp and into the regular season, it could have had major ramifications within the locker room.
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
