The Denver Broncos played dirty in their negotiating tactics with Von Miller, and now the linebacker may resort to hardball to get his way.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, it’s possible that Miller will sit out the season over his unhappiness regarding his contract situation.
Miller received an exclusive franchise tender from the Broncos this offseason but was hoping to sign a long-term deal with the team. He reportedly was seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in the league, but the now-fiscally responsible Broncos do not seem willing to go to such extremes to get him signed. The two sides were recently said to be as much as $4 million per year apart on the terms of a deal.
The kicker came on Wednesday when reports said the Broncos had pulled their offers after Miller seemingly rejected them. That is viewed as information that was leaked by the Broncos with the intention of making Miller look bad. In response, Miller may have to play hardball to get what he wants.
Robinson says that the issue where the two sides differ is on guaranteed money. Even though the Broncos’ offer to Miller was publicized as for six years at $114.5 million, Robinson says it amounted to little more than a two-year deal for less than $40 million because the Broncos would have had options to cut Miller.
The amount of guaranteed money in the contract is really where Miller’s side has a problem, as the Broncos are offering much less than not only Ndamukong Suh got last offseason, but also what Olivier Vernon received this offseason.
Robinson believes Miller’s options are to accept the tag and unsatisfactory contract terms; take the Josh Norman route and ask for the franchise tag to be rescinded; or sit out the season, which would force the Broncos to use a non-exclusive franchise tag on him next season. That move would allow him to sign with other teams and the Broncos to receive compensation in the form in draft picks if they do not match.
The Broncos already showed with their Brock Osweiler and Colin Kaepernick contract talks that they have firm financial terms for which they are unwilling to make exceptions.
The two sides have just over a month to get a long-term deal done before Miller must sign the franchise tender. As of now, it’s not looking good, and the previous report that things could get ugly between the sides appears to be coming to fruition.
