Von Miller just became the highest-paid defensive player in the league, signing a six-year, $114.5 million contract with $70 million in guarantees, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post. Miller will get $25 million in the first year, and the first three years are effectively fully guaranteed.
While Miller is now the highest-paid defensive player of the year, it’s not by a massive margin. He’s getting paid only a little more than Ndamukong Suh, though the latter at least hit the open market. That’s still two million per year ahead of any other defensive player, and Miller and Suh are clearly a step ahead of everyone else in terms of money.
Suh’s deal saw defensive players get really close to the top of the market for quarterbacks, but that’s changed now. While Miller tops Suh by a small amount, he’s now $6 million per year off the mark set by Andrew Luck’s new contract this month. Quarterbacks will still rule the contract roost in the NFL, at least for the foreseeable future — and the Bucs are going to have to start creating cap space for the inevitable Jameis Winston extension, too.