Von Miller sitting in 2016 is a hilariously dumb idea

Will Denver Broncos star pass rusher Von Miller sit in 2016? That’s got to be one of the worst ideas we’ve heard in a long time…

Von Miller cropped John Elway out of an Instagram repost, so now it’s likely that he sits out part of the 2016 season, right?

That’s what some click-bait authors would like you to believe, and perhaps they’ve even convinced themselves that negotiations have gone so sour that neither party involved can come to a point of resolution.

As days go by without Von Miller getting a contract, Broncos fans become a bit more uneasy. But sitting out games?

Please leave.

This was one of the dumbest things I have read in a really, really long time. The Spark Notes version of that post by Pro Football Talk is basically that Von Miller would hold out this year until week 10, play seven games (and the playoffs, presumably), then wait until he gets franchise tagged again, sit out another number of games, and wait for an even bigger tag in 2018.

Here’s what PFT surmised…

“If Denver opts for a third straight tag, Miller would make at least $36 million for 30 games over three years. With the Broncos offering $39.5 million for 32 games over two years, Miller would up with nearly the same amount of money per game, and the very real chance that at some point along the way the Broncos will let Miller get what he’s looking for elsewhere.”

This is assuming that Miller maintains a Madden rating of 99 over the next three seasons, skipping certain parts of the season and offseason programs while not dealing with any of the personal aspect of football between his teammates, coaches, or management.

He simply would hold out for select games, play select games, and maintain an elite level of play through it all.

Pro Football Talk is assuming here that Miller will keep up his elite level of play without any offseason interactions with team trainers, staff, teammates, etc.

It’s an absolutely asinine thing to project on your millions of readers.

The reality of the situation is this — Von Miller cropped John Elway out of an Instagram post because he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has nothing really to do about his position, and it has everything to do with the collective bargaining agreement.

Miller signed a four-year deal as a rookie in 2011 with a fifth-year team option, and the Broncos obviously decided to exercise that option. Miller just finished out the option year of his contract, providing the Broncos with arguably the best year of his NFL career en route to a Super Bowl 50 MVP honor.

It was a whale of a year for Miller, who was given the exclusive franchise tag at the outset of free agency. With the CBA and franchise tag rules in place, the Broncos essentially have an 8-year control over Miller from 2011-2019.

And there’s very little he can do about it.

That’s the reason Miller is frustrated. The Broncos have leverage in contract negotiations, and to be honest they actually offered Miller a pretty sizable pay raise with their $39M guarantee over the first two seasons.

With the franchise tag, Miller will make $14 million in 2016 and because of his position label as a ‘linebacker’ he will make a 120% increase on that with the tag in 2017, which is over $16 million. So, figure the tag earns Miller roughly $31 million over the next two seasons — guaranteed — the Broncos already have come to the table with $8 million more guaranteed in their proposal.

In year three, it remains uncertain what the Broncos are offering, but forfeiting over $800K per game this season and $1M per game next year isn’t something that Miller should even consider in the slightest.

I’m completely on Miller’s side in this situation. I don’t think the Broncos should low-ball him in any way shape or form. In fact, I’m on record as saying the Broncos should just flat out give him a blank check and let him fill it out.

He’s worth it.

There’s no reason why Miller shouldn’t get at least the same guaranteed money as Justin Houston, and if the Broncos didn’t offer that, they deserved the middle finger Miller gave them by cropping Elway out of his photo.

That being said, Justin Houston wasn’t a first-round pick under the new rules of the CBA. Neither was Ndamukong Suh, who signed his monster deal with the Dolphins last year. J.J. Watt gave the Houston Texans a really nice discount at around $16 million per season to retain his services on a long-term deal.

Miller doesn’t appear prepared to do the same.

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Therefore, while there’s precedence in terms of position and production, there’s really no precedence here in terms of team leverage being exercised, and the Broncos have become notorious for their frugality.

Though, fans should hesitate to complain about it, since it just helped them win a Super Bowl.

Miller’s leverage is the franchise tag number over the next three years. If he signs a franchise tender in 2016-18, he will earn roughly $55 million. The guarantee over three years for Miller should be nothing less than that.

If it is, the Broncos are saying they aren’t sure they want to pay a 30-year old Von Miller any guaranteed money, or at least not that much.

This situation isn’t complicated if the Broncos don’t want it to be. Offer Von Miller anywhere between $55M-60M guaranteed on the six-year contract worth $114.5 million in total money, and there will be a distraction removed and a happy Super Bowl MVP in Denver.