Von Miller doesn't plan to suit up for the Broncos this season without a big-money, long-term contract.
Denver's uber-talented pass rusher made that crystal clear Thursday on his Instagram account:
''I love my Teammates, Coaches, and My Fans' but there is 'No Chance' I play the 2016 season under the Franchise tag," he wrote.
Miller and the Broncos have haggled over contract terms all offseason. The Super Bowl 50 MVP last week rejected an offer that included a total value of $114.5 million, which would have made Miller the NFL's highest-paid defensive star.
The two biggest sticking points, per NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, is where the Broncos and Miller sit on guaranteed money and how much the linebacker stands to make over the first three years of the pact. After watching Eagles defensive lineman Fletcher Cox sign a six-year extension that will pay a whopping $63 million in guarantees, Miller won't settle for anything less. If anything, he'll angle to generously top that deal.
The Broncos have until the collective bargaining agreement's July 15 deadline to reach an agreement with Miller. After that, his final option would be to play the season under the $14.129 million franchise tag, but Miller says that isn't happening.
It helps that Denver isn't saddled with a super-expensive quarterback contract. That dynamic helped Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall earn more than people expected this week with his four-year, $32 million extension.
Like Marshall, Miller will get paid -- just a whole lot more. We completely expect the Broncos to work this out before July 15. Just, please, don't use a fax machine this time.
