DENVER BRONCOS Von Miller Objectives
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DENVER BRONCOS Von Miller Objectives OVERVIEW: Von Miller has become one of the most dynamic defensive players in the league. As he approaches free agency we need to find a way to extend him to a long- term contract. After going through the uncertainty of using the franchise tag on Demaryius Thomas last year we have decided we absolutely do not want to go that route this year. However, we can try to use the tag value of $13,200,000 as leverage for the first year of the contract. Thus, coming to an agreement on a contract extension for Mr. Miller has become our priority and must get done as soon as possible. As our lead negotiator for his contract, we have set some objectives we would like you to consider carefully as you work towards completing a deal. The objectives are listed in order of importance, and will be weighted as such. 1. We acknowledge that Mr. Miller has been one of the most productive outside linebackers in the league since entering in 2011, and we understand that he and his representation will be seeking a large signing bonus because of the small amount of money he has been able to make on his rookie contract despite his production. With this being said, we have built a championship contending roster by maintaining roster flexibility and not making poor financial decisions. Mr. Miller is one of our franchise cornerstones on the defense and we will compensate him as such, but we are not looking to prevent ourselves from fielding a competitive roster in the future. Make sure the signing bonus does not exceed $15 million. 2. Our team came so close to achieving the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl in 2014. Coming that close to victory, and realizing that Peyton Manning probably has only one more year before retirement has made us realize how truly important 2016 will be for us as a team. Although we have tentatively tabbed Brock Osweiller as our “quarterback of the future” we believe Peyton gives us the best chance to win now and allows us to make one final push at a Super Bowl. Having said that, 2016 is also a year where we are experiencing our least amount of salary cap flexibility as a team; in order to be competitive, we need to keep Mr. Miller’s cap number in this year relatively low. It is important to keep Mr. Miller’s cap hit in 2016 below $10 million. 3. As previously mentioned, we are “all-in” for 2016. However, this does not mean we are not simultaneously thinking about our future as an organization after Peyton has decided to retire. Because of how valuable Mr. Miller is to both our defense and the organization as a whole, we are looking to center our focus around him going forward and make him a “face of the franchise”. In order to do this, we will have to make sure he will be on the team for the foreseeable future. We want to have him under contract for as long as possible, and at least 6 years. Finalize a long-term deal with Mr. Miller that is at least 6 years in length. 4. While we are willing to make Mr. Miller one of the highest paid players in the NFL, we feel that should be done within reason. Ndamukong Suh was a free agent who had a significant amount of leverage when he signed the deal that made him the highest compensated defensive player in the league. Unlike the Lions, Suh’s old team, we have the capability of using the franchise tag on Von. While this is not the route we would like to take with him, it should give us enough leverage to prevent us from setting a new mark for highest paid defensive player. Total contract value cannot exceed Ndamukong Suh’s $114,370,000 contract. 5. Choosing a player to be the “face of a franchise” is a significant decision. That player will represent the Broncos on and off the field, and any decisions that they make will be attributed to our team. Although for the most part Mr. Miller has been a model player and teammate, there are past events that give us cause for concern. Another concern we have is the injuries Mr. Miller has sustained; he has managed to come back from them and perform, but injuries do not always go away. While we appreciate everything Mr. Miller has done for our organization and do not anticipate either of these areas being ongoing issues, we would be doing the rest of our players on the team a disservice if we did not protect ourselves from the possibility. Make sure at least $5 million of Mr. Miller’s salary t is paid in per game roster bonuses. .