Von Miller appeared everywhere this offseason. The Denver Broncos linebacker granted interviews to Ellen, The Today Show and The Late, Late Show. He presented a Grammy. He competed on Dancing with the Stars.
Ah, the rewards of being the Super Bowl MVP.
“Nothing comes without success on the football field,” Miller said in a phone interview. “I think our success on the football field prepared all of us to a certain level of stardom.”
The DeSoto, Texas, and Texas A&M alum already was a recognisable star with his designer glasses, his designer shoes and his designer sack dance.
He had five sacks, 11 tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception in the Broncos’ three postseason wins.
He earned Super Bowl MVP honours after making Carolina quarterback Cam Newton miserable in the Broncos’ 24-10 victory.
Now, Miller graces the cover of the NFL’s official 2016 Record & Fact Book, dances on a commercial for EA Sports’ Madden NFL 17 and unveiled the first pair of Kanye West’s “Yeezy” football cleats made by adidas. He also now has endorsement deals with Microsoft, Chef’s Cut, Old Spice, Muzik and Best Buy.
“It’s been a true blessing,” Miller said.
“I’m loving it. I wouldn’t want it the other way around for sure. I like people to like me and notice me. It’s something I enjoy and want to keep my production on the field, so I continue to get these opportunities.”
Oh, yeah, and Miller signed a six-year, $114.5mn contract with the Broncos in the offseason, getting $70mn guaranteed. The deal, though, did not come without some angst.
On June 8, the Broncos released details of the six-year, $114.5mn deal that Miller rejected because only $38.5mn was fully guaranteed.
Miller, 27, did not mask his anger at John Elway, cropping the Broncos general manager out of an Instagram photo from the White House while threatening to sit out the season.
“There was definitely some uncertainty,” Miller said.
“I think all the way up until the (deadline on July 15), I was even on the fence. I wanted to play football. I really wanted to be here with the Denver Broncos, and I wanted to play this year. But from a business standpoint, it just didn’t make sense to come and play under those circumstances. But I think we got everything aired out. The ultimate goal for me was to be a Denver Bronco, and I’m here, so we got that achieved.”
A phone conversation with Elway, initiated by Miller, helped smooth differences in negotiations.
“I think it helped a tremendous amount,” Miller said.
“I’m not an agent. I didn’t really have a lot of conversations with Mr. Ellis (team president Joe Ellis) and Mr. Elway at that time, so I just felt like I wanted to talk to them man-to-man and speak from the heart and really just put the human aspect back into negotiations. I think we got all that done.”
Miller began his 2016 season by playing 56 of 73 snaps in the Broncos’ 21-20 victory over the Panthers on Thursday night.
He had a sack, three tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.
Miller, a favourite for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honours, plans to be better than he was during the regular season in 2015 when he made 11 sacks. How much better?
“I’ve got crazy goals,” Miller said. “I like to keep my goals to myself and with my teammates. I just want to grind. I’m going to try my hardest to get them all.
“If I sat down and told you all my goals, it’d create some negativity because the type of dreams and the type of goals I have, they’re up there. It would be easy for guys to be like, ‘Ah, he’s not going to be able to do that.’ I just don’t need that type of energy. I just want to keep my goals to myself and grind it out and try to get them.”