Von Miller: Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack deserve to be NFL's highest-paid defenders
Cameron DaSilva
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
The Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders will meet on Monday Night Football in Week 1 to kick off their 2018 campaigns, but that’s not the only thing connecting the two teams. They’re also facing the very real possibility of not having their best players on the field for that game.
Both Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack are in the midst of lengthy holdouts as they aim to land long-term extensions from the Rams and Raiders, respectively. Neither has gotten what they want just yet, but L.A. and Oakland are hopeful deals can get done before they square off in Week 1.
It’s expected that each player wants to be the highest-paid defender in the NFL, and rightfully so. Von Miller currently holds that title at $19 million per year, but he’d be perfectly fine with either Donald or Mack taking the crown.
“As far as both those guys holding out, they deserve big contracts. It’s an unfortunate situation, both of those guys have won Defensive Player of the Year. Both of those guys are the best players on both of their teams,” Miller told 9News in Denver.
“In the National Football League, if you come in and produce, you get a contract. Both of those guys have gone above and beyond the call their team has demanded from those guys. Both of those guys deserve to be the highest-paid defensive player.”
Miller doesn’t specify who deserves to be paid more, or who should hold the title of the highest-paid defensive player in the league, but it’s clear he thinks highly of both Mack and Donald. Eventually, one of them will take Miller’s crown of being the top-paid defender in the NFL, it’s just a matter of when, not if.
