If Von Miller Can’t Get Paid, No NFL Player is Safe

09 Jun, 2016

Cheap and stubborn is no way to repeat as NFL champs. There are 120 million reasons why linebacker Von Miller is the most valuable player on the Broncos.

General manager John Elway needs to stop low-balling Miller and get a deal done, before a team that has been drifting aimlessly since the Super Bowl parade winds up in the ditch.

Why does Miller not have a new contract?

At the risk of incurring the wrath of Elway and Broncomaniacs who think he can walk on Grand Lake, contract negotiations have reached an impasse because Denver management has stubbornly refused to pay Miller what he’s worth.

Calculating Miller’s worth does not require a secret formula. After being named MVP of the Super Bowl, a new deal for Miller could have been worked out in no more time than it takes Elway to play 18 holes of golf. So what gives? Yes, it takes two to tango. But instead of dancing with the star, Elway has stepped on Miller’s toes.

The fair deal for Miller is a no-brainer: six years, $120 million, with half that hefty amount of cash guaranteed to the Pro Bowl linebacker at signing. Tough negotiators on either side of the table can quibble over nickels and dimes in any way that gives them the desired testosterone buzz, but to expect the league’s premier defensive player to agree to significantly less than $20 million per season when he’s 27 years old and at the top of his game is a waste of everybody’s time.

Don’t the Broncos have enough problems without creating contract drama with Miller that could linger throughout most of the summer? The Broncos have their hands full trying to sell the league on the idea that Mark Sanchez, a reject from the New York Jets, is a bona fide No. 1 quarterback. They’re also trying to pretend the bullet hole in cornerback Aqib Talib’s leg is a mere flesh wound instead of a message written in blood: a Super Bowl hangover can be both real and dangerous.

So what’s the hang-up with Miller? Well, there’s an unwritten rule at Dove Valley that’s also no secret. In fact, how Elway operates is as clear and unmistakable as the paycheck stubs for cornerback Chris Harris Jr., defensive lineman Derek Wolfe and offensive tackle Russell Okung. To avoid paying top dollar, Elway sells playing for the Broncos as a privilege for guys who really want to be in Denver.

At a time when his pass coverage was unsurpassed in the league, Harris happily gave the Broncos a hometown discount in 2014, agreeing to a four-year extension that paid him an average of $8.3 million per season, this after Seattle locked up cornerback Richard Sherman for an annual salary of $14 million earlier that same year. When Wolfe agreed to a team-friendly contract during the Broncos’ run to the Super Bowl in January, it spelled the end in town for fellow defensive lineman Malik Jackson. Whether it’s Okung at offensive tackle or Sanchez at quarterback, Elway shops in the bargain bin, even at positions considered critical to an NFL team’s success.

Don’t get it twisted. This isn’t a blanket condemnation of the way the Broncos do business. The same no-surrender approach Elway exhibited as a Hall of Fame quarterback has often served him and the team well in his role as a front-office executive. For example: Demanding that Peyton Manning take a pay cut a year ago was a gutsy move that showed that no individual, even Peyton freaking Manning, is above the team.

But this is Miller’s team now. As the Vonster goes, so do the Broncos. He deserves more respect – and a sweeter deal – than a rising star eager to please and quick to succumb to the sweet nothings being whispered in his ear by Elway.

If Denver is truly serious in its quest to prove that winning the Super Bowl with a pedestrian (at best) quarterback and a legendary defense was more than a fluky one-hit wonder, then using the franchise tag as leverage against Miller is penny smart and pound foolish.

By back-loading the most lucrative salary years to Miller while guaranteeing less than 35 percent of their $114.5 million proposal, it appears the Broncos might be trying to win public sentiment for an offer that’s more brag than substance. Guaranteed money is all that really counts in the NFL, and if you’re asking me, the Broncos are about $20 million shy of a fair deal.

Miller is Texas born and raised. He knows the definition of big hat, no cattle. And Elway is wearing a 10-gallon Stetson, while peddling cow pies.

That stinks.

Show the Vonster his money.

Denver Post.com

Image CBS Screenshot

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