Why Von Miller might favor staying in LA past 2021

The Rams could be able to retain the star pass rusher as more than just a half-season rental

Though nothing has come of it, as far as I know, Von Miller announced back in 2019 that he would be working on an animated comedy TV show about playing football on Mars. The team would be called “Mars Martians” (as creative as “Houston Texans” or “Football Team”, which is probably the joke) and Miller would get to unleash his creative side on the world.

Presumably, working in Hollywood is still something that interests Von Miller, both in the future and the now.

Back in 2016, months after doing more to help the Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl than arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time was able to do that year, Von Miller was the subject of an ESPN interview being conducted at his Hollywood mansion. He was asked if he saw himself in L.A. long term.

When we arrive back at his house, the sun is beginning to set. We walk out to the pool, and he points out that Leonardo DiCaprio has a mansion nearby. “It’s super dope,” he says, a hint of reverence in his voice. I ask him whether he sees himself in Hollywood in the long run, and he gazes down at the city in silence for a minute, the twinkling lights reflected in his glasses. “If we win another Super Bowl and another reality show wants me, I’ll come back,” he says. “But now? I’m ready to go back to football.”

Miller has long been connected to the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles — so much so that he unfortunately got sucked into a story about rooming with Johnny Manziel there — and therefore it is really unsurprising that he’s been traded to a SoCal team. It would also stand to reason then that Les Snead and Sean McVay had some inclination to believe that Von Miller wants to stay for longer than a “rental” when the Rams traded two day two picks for his services on Monday. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue did tweet that a source with knowledge of the situation said that the team thinks Miller could be more than a rental.

We have no way of knowing for sure how intent Von Miller is on staying in L.A. past the 2021 NFL season, but of all the cities in the league that could attract Miller at a “discount,” the one that’s home to Hollywood might have the greatest odds because that’s also where Von Miller might be the most valuable.