Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports that the Broncos are willing to pay franchise OLB Von Miller in the neighborhood of $18 million per season in a long-term deal.
This would slot Miller ahead of Chiefs OLB Justin Houston, but would come up short when compared to the contract signed by Dolphins DT Ndamukong Suh.
According to Robinson, the situation between the Broncos and Miller “has the potential to get messy this offseason.”
The Broncos haven’t been aggressive in handing out massive contract extensions for players under John Elway, but there’s no question that Miller deserves to be paid among the top players in the game.
The Giants didn’t help things from the Broncos’ perspective after they signed DE Olivier Vernon to a five-year, $85 million contract with $40 million fully guaranteed.
Jason Cole of B/R previously reported that Miller is likely to ask for over $20 million per year in his next contract.
Cole added that GMs around the league have told him that they don’t think $20 million is all that unrealistic for Miller, while adding that he could make as much as $24-$25 million annually if he were able to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
This situation could ultimately come down to Miller’s willingness to play out the 2016 season under the franchise tag rather than accept a long-term deal from the Broncos that could include less money.
The two sides have until July to negotiate a long-term or Miller will end up playing out the year under the franchise tag and be in position to test the free agent market again in 2017.
Miller, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Broncos back in 2011. After playing out his rookie deal, Denver picked up his fifth-year option and later used their franchise tag on Miller this offseason.
He’s now in line to make $15.701 million fully guaranteed for the 2016 season. However, this won’t prevent them from negotiating a long-term deal that would reduce this figure and offer them some additional cap space.
In 2015, Miller appeared all 16 games and recorded 35 tackles, 11 sacks, three fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense out of 53 qualifying players.
We’ll have more regarding a long-term contract for Miller as the news is available.
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