Cory's Corner: Von Miller's contract talks should be private

I understand what Von Miller is trying to do.

The window for a professional football player is short. And that’s why the 27-year-old Miller isn’t just looking for generation-changing money. He’s looking for statement-making money.

The problem is that the average fan isn’t exactly going to have much empathy for a guy that’s balking at playing this year under the franchise tag for $14.1 million. That’s silly money for 98 percent of this country.

“I've never really played for money,” said Miller about the franchise tag. “It's bigger than that for me. It's a league-wide problem that I feel like I'm in a situation to help out with.”

Of course nobody plays for money. Football is one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet, yet legions of folks opt to volunteer to play each Sunday.

Miller is attacking this the wrong way. Fighting money this way won’t win him any points in the public forum.

Miller’s argument is simple. If he accepts the franchise tag and has a subpar year or gets injured, his value will obviously take a nosedive. And it doesn’t help that he’s a linebacker, which means that coming off an MVP performance in Super Bowl 50, his value will never be higher.

But he needs to have this fight in boardrooms behind closed doors, not on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It’s only making him look whiny and it’s likely ticking off the Broncos.

However, Miller does have the leverage because Denver let everyone else go. The Broncos have no choice but to bring Miller and his old-school glasses back.

The deadline for Denver is July 15 at 4 p.m. ET. Miller earned his money, but he doesn’t have to go about it this way.  

 

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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn

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Comments (15)

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Bearmeat's picture

July 12, 2016 at 11:57 am

Actually Corey,

I am in complete sympathy with the players. Considering the obscene amount of money the owners annually make for as many years as they own the team, players SHOULD be getting fully guaranteed contracts at signing. They SHOULD be getting a much higher percentage of the pie. They SHOULD be able to turn down the franchise tag.

Screw the owners and their shill Goodell. Go Miller. Soak that bum Elway.

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CoryJennerjohn's picture

July 12, 2016 at 08:35 am

I agree Bearmeat. I think players should try to get as much as they can because the earning potential window is small. I just don't agree with arguing about it in public.

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Bearmeat's picture

July 12, 2016 at 11:55 am

Fair. No one ever accused Von Miller of being the sharpest knife in the drawer though.

PS: RE: short window of time in a career... YES YES YES!

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WKUPackFan's picture

July 12, 2016 at 09:57 am

Agree with you guys 100%.

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TarynsEyes's picture

July 12, 2016 at 11:55 am

Fully guaranteed contracts will close down football.
Unless the amount of money over the contract is severely lower.
A 5 year $90 million deal now with $40 guaranteed where the guaranteed is paid the first 3 years, regardless of how termed, will likely have that player moving on elsewhere or if having been injured more closer to not playing again thus having a larger turnover ration in players. The likelihood of having a player for 6-10 + years in the league much less on a team becomes a ' Once upon a time' thing.
I don't believe that football can offer a salary structure as like baseball or that other sport comprised of crap and survive.
The very fact that football has such a small window for players via injury is exactly why owners, in any business, won't guarantee salaries of that nature. The possibility of lost time playing football is far greater an adverse effect on the product and success than that of baseball and the other sport, for the time frame to supply the actual product to the public. 162-81-16. : )

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Tundraboy's picture

July 12, 2016 at 12:05 pm

Totally agree on guarantee part. Players make the game. Didnt Goodell make $32 MM this past year? Thats obscene

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

July 12, 2016 at 09:35 pm

No to fully guaranteed contracts. (See the NBA.)

No to a higher % of the pie. (The union can help pay concussion lawsuits. GM was a cash cow for decades, until it wasn't.)

No to turning down tags. (Why stop there? Why not do away with the draft too?)

If you want the NFL to be a part of a classic free market, say bye to the Green Bay Packers.

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EdsLaces's picture

July 12, 2016 at 09:17 am

It's awful I couldn't imagine having to workout all the time,travel the country,stay at the nicest hotels eating the best foods,meeting all kinds of celebs and do SNL and other talk shows. Then when all that is said n done only making about 100 x's the money I make now ...that would suck.

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

July 12, 2016 at 09:51 am

"Of course nobody plays for money."

Given the life altering risks involved I suggest playing for the money. All Miller needs to do do is tell the Broncos that he will not accept the risk of a one year deal, it's his choice to play or not play and they'd be stupid to give up a year of Von Miller.

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WKUPackFan's picture

July 12, 2016 at 10:09 am

Severely off topic:

Don't know how many Bachelorette fans we have here, but Jordan Rodgers dropped some serious, and unfortunate, Rodgers family news last night. Next week's show will have hometown visits, and more family issues (or at least alleged strife between AR and Jordan) were teased last night.

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J0hn Denver's Gavel's picture

July 12, 2016 at 10:41 am

its taped, happened a while ago. He wins, too.

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scullyitsme's picture

July 12, 2016 at 12:18 pm

I know if I had a whiny ass little brother that thought it was a good Idea to go on the Bachelorette and humiliate his self and family, I'd give him a swift kick in the pants and never talk to him either, That Dude is a tool(Jordan)

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EddieLeeIvory's picture

July 12, 2016 at 04:36 pm

Goodell sucks, and his earning $32 million is CRIMINAL.
He should have been fired.

Von Miller has already been offered more than fair value. He's no JJ Watt.

His rejecting that much money (almost) makes me not sympathetic to him should he lose a few fingers or foot as Jason Pierre-Paul did, or a bike accident like Jason Williams did when he was drafted out of Duke.

I get that players careers are short. I also get it, more than most, that ACLs and necks can go anytime. See Sterling, Jordy, Brooks, Collins, Jermichael, Jolly, Murphy, and me, Eddie Lee.

Miller already tore an ACL in Denver too.

But he's been offered a boatload of $$, and guaranteed. It's more than he's worth. Screw him.

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Flow49's picture

July 12, 2016 at 11:48 pm

I really don't get all of this Goodell hate, the boo'n at the draft is getting old too. Goodell is a mouth piece for the owners direct your frustrations at them. And the only way to do that is stop watching. If Goodell were gone there would be another $32 million meat Shield to replace him.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

July 13, 2016 at 12:19 am

I see no reason why Miller should not go public. It is not against the CBA. Perhaps he can generate public pressure on the GM if the fans think his contract demands are reasonable. If the fans think 6 yrs, $114M, with $60+M in guaranteed money is unreasonable, then it could backfire on him. I would note that Cox got $36M guaranteed initially, with more guaranteed later: a total of $63M is arguably effectively guaranteed. That seems crazy to me for a DT, or for a DL not named Watt, or perhaps Suh.

Since 2012, 38 players have been tagged. Half managed to reach long term deals. A few, like Josh Norman, got released by their team. The rest played under the tag, or in one case, signed a 1 year deal but with other terms included. (Yes, the option after 7/15 is to sign the franchise tag or at most a one-year contract, which can be for less or more money, which might have other terms, such as performance triggers under which if earned the team can't tag the player again, for eg.)

The 50/50 nature of the Franchise Tag sounds about right to me. I am fine with players trying to maximize their income. While none of my employers ever guaranteed future income for me, I didn't belong to a union or have the negotiating power of NFL players, and I certainly tried to maximize my earnings.

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