“We’re in discussions with Von. We’ve exchanged some offers,” Broncos General Manager John Elway told media at the combine on Thursday. “We continue to be able to meet with his representatives. We feel good about it. Obviously with the career that he’s had already and the way that he played this year, we’re very hopeful that we’ll be able to get something done. . . We’re always hopeful that if we can get together that we’d like to [come to a long-term agreement].”
Maybe the franchise tag isn’t a foregone conclusion after all? The Broncos are going to have to back up the brinks truck for Von Miller at some point, could it make sense to do it sooner rather than later? Could the Broncos sign Von to a long-term contract now and, say, use that franchise tag on Malik Jackson? It seems to be a possibility.
#Broncos are poised to push for a mega long-term extension for Von Miller, sources say. They've had talks & there's optimism it gets done
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 25, 2016
Here’s what we know, if Von does sign a long-term deal, it’s going to be massive. If he doesn’t become the highest paid defensive player in history, there’s a very good chance he is going to get the most guaranteed money in history.
In most cases, Von would almost be guaranteed to become the highest-paid defender in history, it’s always the next in line, but in 2015 Ndamukong Suh signed a six-year, $114,375,000 contract with the Miami Dolphins ($19,062,500 annually), including a $25,500,000 signing bonus, with $59,955,000 guaranteed. Around the league, this is pretty well regarded as a terrible contract, not necessarily considered a fair barometer.
A better comparison would be the contract of Justin Houston with the Kansas City Chiefs. Last year, Houston signed a six-year, $101,000,000 deal ($16,833,333 annually), including a $20,500,000 signing bonus, $52,500,000 guaranteed. It’s a guarantee that Miller will get a larger deal than Houston.
The interesting part of the deal will be the years, the phrase “mega long-term” has us thinking this potential deal will be at least seven years. In that case, the total number of the contract will certainly be the biggest ever for a defensive player and so will the guaranteed money. Say it is for seven years, we predict Von’s contract to look something like seven years, $126,000,000 (18 million annually) with a $21,000,000 plus signing bonus and more than $60,000,000 guaranteed.
Mega long term, mega millions.
If the Broncos are able to get this deal done with Miller, it could really change up their strategy for this offseason and maybe even give them a better chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions. It sounds like both parties have confidence that it could happen.
