According to a report from Pro Football Network, problems in Denver’s locker room related to Von Miller’s annual Halloween factored into why he’ll be dressing up as a Ram instead of a Bronco moving forward.
Per PFT, the star linebacker was irked when his teammates didn’t chip in to help him fund his annual party, which usually carries a six-figure price tag and featured Quavo from the hip-hop act Migos this year.
Miller reportedly wanted his teammates, including rookies, to kick in thousands of dollars for an event they had no role in planning, a request that came as a surprise to members of the team who figured they were guests of the party, not co-hosts.
“Miller, who has earned over $90 million in his career, threatened to disrupt the Broncos’ locker room chemistry over what in his mind was an unpaid debt,” per PFN. “We’re also told coach Vic Fangio and general manager George Paton became aware of the rift. That may have factored into the team’s decision to move on from the eight-time Pro Bowler despite the Broncos sitting just a half-game out of the AFC’s seventh seed.”
True or not, the report is worth nothing for the fact that it exists. The Broncos seemed to do pretty well in recouping LA’s second- and third-round picks in the 2022 draft for the perennial Pro Bowler (even though Denver is picking up $9 million of the $9.722 million left on his contract). But perhaps there are some within the organization that feel the need to further justify the trade by leaking out the existence of locker room discontent. If that’s the case, it is kind of a dirty trick to play on a player who has largely been a treat during his NFL career.
It’s worth noting this is not the first time there has been fallout following one of Miller’s annual bashes. In 2018, former Denver backup quarterback Chad Kelly attended Miller’s party and later was arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal trespass. Kelly was waived by the Broncos on the next day.
In a subsequent lawsuit, Miller’s videographer Jackson Belcher filed a lawsuit against Kelly for allegedly breaking his nose when he “socked him in the face while drunk and high” after “boozing and using recreational drugs.”
“It was a private event, it was safe,” Miller said of the 2018 soirée. “I had team security there, I had my own private security there … Just all of Denver sports. It was a private event, it was a Halloween party, it was a safe event. I care about Chad as a person. The party was separate from his issues. I love the guy, I wish the best for him.”
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