The moment Von Miller brought home the Lombardi and Super Bowl 50 MVP Trophies to the Mile High City, his value skyrocketed. Over the next month, Miller has yet to step back onto a field — in fact, he’s been parading around the country in what Peyton Manning called his “celebrity tour” — and yet his value continues to rise.
Even before the Broncos’ Super Bowl run began, it was widely believed that Miller would become one of the highest paid defensive players in the league. Then, well, he went out and had one of the greatest contract seasons in recent memory.
The regular season was outstanding for the Broncos’ defense, as they finished No. 1 overall in many team-defensive categories, and a fine season for Miller individually. Miller earned a nomination to the Pro Bowl, while compiling 11 sacks.
However, statistically, this was not even close to Miller’s best year. In 2012, Miller’s second season, he made his presence felt throughout the league, racking up 18.5 sacks. And last year, Miller had his second best statistical season, with 14 sacks. Even in his rookie year, he had more sacks, 11.5, than he did this past year during the regular season.
Still, sacks don’t tell the whole story, and even if they did, all you’d have to do is look at Miller’s postseason run to see how valuable he truly is.
This was Miller’s fourth postseason appearance, and up till this point, he had been somewhat of a disappointment in the playoffs, just like his teams. In the past three playoff appearances, Miller had only 1.5 sacks total. This year, though, Miller threw up 2.5 sacks in both the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. That’s five total sacks in the two most important, high-profile games of the season, not to mention intercepting Tom Brady and forcing two fumbles against the Carolina Panthers’ No. 1 offense in the league.
After dominating the 2015 postseason and doing everything in his power to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Denver, it was no longer a question if Miller would be one of the highest-paid defenders in league history; it was a matter of if he was going to be the highest-paid defender in NFL history.
Negotiations on a long-term deal were not reached before the deadline for a team to use the franchise tag, so the Broncos used the tag on him. The two sides still have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term contract, and if they cannot agree to terms by then, the tag will pay Miller just over $14 million this coming season.
During negotiations of a long-term deal, it seemed as though Ndamukong Suh’s contract with the Miami Dolphins was the disconnect in the negotiations. Last year Suh signed a six-year deal worth just north of $114 million, with an average of $19 million a year. The Broncos viewed Suh’s deal as an outlier and did not want to factor that into the negotiations of comparable contracts, since the next highest yearly average was Kansas City’s Justin Houston at $16.83 million a year.
It seems as if the Broncos felt so strongly that Suh’s contract was an outlier that they decided to tag Miller instead of budge.
With free agency opening last week, the market continued to adjust and not in a favorable way for the Broncos. One of the earliest moves of free agency came with the former Bronco Malik Jackson, who signed a six-year, $90 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars that averages out to $15 million per year. While Malik was a very good player, if he is worth $15 million a year, then Miller is absolutely worth a few million more.
Then Olivier Vernon broke the bank, signing with the New York Giants for five-years $85 million, with $52.5 million guaranteed, the largest contract ever for an edge pass rusher. The Giants paid $17 million a year for a player that is not a household name, has only averaged 7.25 sacks per year in his four-year career and has never been on a team with a winning record.
Vernon’s contract certainly increased Miller’s value, because now how could the Broncos offer anything less than $17 million per year? Suh’s contract looks less and less like an outlier and more along the lines of what Miller will end up receiving.
If the Broncos opt to have Miller play under the franchise tag of $14 million, they’ll be saving between $3-7 million this year, assuming Miller otherwise could sign a top-dollar deal. However, if the Broncos choose to do this, Miller’s value could continue to increase by letting the market continue to rise.
While $20 million a year may seem like a lot for a defensive player this year, locking up Von Miller sooner rather than later could actually save the Broncos money in the long run. From all indications it seems as if Elway will end up doing whatever it takes to keep Miller dancing in Denver.
