The Broncos and Von Miller Are Stuck in a Money Trap. Can They Escape and Get Back to the Super Bowl? by Mark Kiszla Denver Post March 23, 2018
The Broncos and Von Miller are stuck in a money trap. Can they escape and get back to the Super Bowl? By Mark Kiszla Denver Post March 23, 2018 Von Miller was the No. 1 reason the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. His contract is the No. 1 reason Denver might not get back to the Super Bowl until after Miller leaves town. While trying to pull the Broncos from the last-place abyss, president of football operations John Elway made a troubling discovery. The team’s best player was making it very difficult for a roster in need of a major overhaul to be competitive in the AFC West. My intention here is not to bash Miller. Far from it. The Vonster can flatten quarterbacks like a boulder and be as funny as Chris Rock. But I’ve done the math. Paying big money to a defensive player, even one as talented as Miller, generally does not compute in the NFL. Let’s start with a riddle: What do Justin Houston, Josh Norman, Miller, Ndamukong Suh and Muhammad Wilkerson have in common? They were the five highest-paid defensive stars in the league last season. And, all together, they won exactly zero playoff games. In the NFL, where all the rules are tilted in favor of the quarterback, a healthy Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers can all but ensure his team will be a championship contender. Even with a salary-cap hit in excess of $20 million, Rodgers or Brady is worth every last penny. In 2017, however, Houston, Norman, Miller, Suh and Wilkerson cost an average of $19.8 million on the salary-cap ledger.
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