NFL franchise tag players: Who gets signed?

Von Miller

Let’s get this out of the way at the top: Von Miller is going to sign with the Denver Broncos. If he doesn’t it would be one of the biggest upsets in recent NFL offseason history.

Miller is one of those generational players who has shown he can play on the biggest stage, putting forth a show in the NFL playoffs this January and February. The result was a Super Bowl championship for the Broncos, largely driven by Miller’s performance which included five sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception.

During the regular season, Miller was very good. He notched 11 sacks to give him 60 throughout his five-year career in Denver. At 27 years old, Miller is about to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.

For the Broncos, they can afford the sizeable deal. With Paxton Lynch coming in on a rookie deal for the next four years, Denver has cap flexibility that teams paying big-time quarterbacks don’t enjoy. Denver has the most cap space of any team going into 2017, sitting on $66.248 million.

While general manager John Elway has to account for quality free agents next year (Brandon Marshall, Emmanuel Sanders and T.j. Ward), that figure will easily fit Miller’s mega-deal in.

Verdict: Signs six-year, $120 million deal with $65 million guaranteed