With less than 48 hours until the deadline to sign Von Miller to a contract extension, potentially the only person in Broncos Country that isn’t sweating over getting a deal done is the man in charge of it all … John Elway.
Elway isn’t worried. Not because he doesn’t want Miller on the Denver Broncos long-term, but because he’s been in this exact position before.
Not only has Elway used the franchise tag three other times in his executive career — Matt Prater (2012), Ryan Clady (2013) and Demaryius Thomas (2015) — but he has signed all three of them to long-term deals before the deadline. And in two of those three circumstances, Elway waited until the final 24 hours to put pen to paper.
Clady and Thomas both had to wait until mid-July to receive contracts from the Broncos, while Prater was able to get a deal done in early July. In fact, Clady and the Broncos did not agree on a deal until late the night before the deadline and Thomas was not signed until the morning of the deadline.
Based on how Elway has operated, Broncos Country shouldn’t expect any movement on Miller until Friday afternoon, potentially as late as five minutes before the deadline, just as they did with Thomas — not announcing the contract until 1:55pm MST with a 2:00pm deadline.
While many people might say that Miller’s situation is different because the Broncos are dealing with the Super Bowl MVP and a potential record-breaking contract, Thomas and Clady’s situations weren’t much different.
In 2013 Clady was set to make $9.828 million under the franchise-tag after starting every game since being drafted in 2008 and being a Pro Bowler three times. Clady was viewed as a top left tackle in the league, and he ended up being paid like one too — five-years, $52.5 million with $33 million guaranteed. At the time this contract made Clady the third highest-paid left tackle in the league, and he was viewed as a crucial piece to Denver’s offense, protecting Peyton Manning’s blind side.
Just last offseason the Broncos signed Thomas to the massive five-year, $70 million contract with $43.75 million guaranteed. Not only did this deal come down to the last few minutes (literally) like Miller’s may, there was also some animosity between the two sides, just like Miller this year.
On top of the NFL Players Association threatening to pursue collusion charges against the Broncos if a long-term deal wasn’t reached with Thomas, Thomas also said he would skip training camp and the preseason if no long-term deal was reached.
After the Broncos and Thomas agreed to the contract, the hard feelings from Thomas seemed to disappear. Although Miller’s frustration with Elway and the Broncos has been very well documented through this negotiating process, a long-term deal would most likely ease and cure the fractured relationship, just like it did with Thomas.
So calm your fears, Broncos Country. We’ve been here before, and we’ve always come out just fine.