FRISCO, Texas -- Future Hall of Fame edge rusher Von Miller is living out a childhood dream by suiting up for his hometown Dallas Cowboys in his 16th NFL season in 2026. Part of that dream involved Miller wearing No. 40 on his jersey because that's what he wore playing high school football in DeSoto and playing college football at Texas A&M. He also donned No. 40 in his stops with the Los Angeles Rams (2021) and Buffalo Bills (2022-2024).
The one problem with Miller's desire for No. 40 in Dallas is that fullback Hunter Luepke owned that number for the last three seasons since he came to the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. That's why Miller had his arm wrapped around Luepke walking into the locker room after a morning practice on Tuesday.
The two came to an agreement for Miller to acquire No. 40 and for Luepke to change his jersey number to No. 30 on Thursday. What got the deal over the finish line? Miller gave Luepke equity in his chicken farm company, Greener Pastures Chicken.
"It was great. You got to give Hunter a great shoutout. He's learned from the best negotiators here with the Cowboys. It went down to the final hour, but we were able to get it done," Miller said on Thursday. "I don't want to get into the details of it, but I'm happy to say he's my business partner. He's a part owner of Greener Pastures Chicken. The chicken of champions. ... It was only right of Hunter to be a part of that too. He won three [two FCS] national championships in college [at North Dakota State]. It was a great fit for us. It was a great fit for him. I'm happy that we were able to get it done."
Joby Branion has been Miller's longtime agent and helped him earn $201.7 million on the field, so this was the Super Bowl 50 MVP's first negotiation he's had to handle directly.
"It was really the only negotiation that I had to have. It has to be the first in National Football League history that a jersey swap has been done with ownership of a chicken farm," Miller said with a grin.
So will Luepke be getting his chicken for free from here on out? According to Miller, that needed to be negotiated up front. However, Luepke now joins a star-studded lineup of NFL investors of Miller and Super Bowl champion quarterbacks from Texas.
"That's part of negotiations. You had to put that up front. I think Hunter's deal is sweet," Miller said. "We got a lot of guys. ... Me, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Nick Foles. Throwing Hunter Luepke in that conversation as well as a part owner of Greener Pastures Chicken is amazing. I'm excited to have him on board. He was excited to be on board. It was a win-win for both sides."
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer has been in the NFL coaching ranks for 27 seasons, but like Miller said, he's never seen a jersey swap deal reach the finish line between player for stake in a company like he saw in the case of Miller and Luepke.
"There's been a lot of them. There's been cars. There's been Rolexes," Schottenheimer said Thursday. "If a guy wants a jersey bad enough, and he's been around the league awhile, he usually has enough capital, cash to get things done. I think these guys found a way to get this thing resolved."
There was a second in these negotiations where it was uncertain if Miller and Luepke were going to reach an agreement, something that could have affected Dallas' locker room. Schottenheimer ended up being relieved that they came to an agreement at the buzzer on Thursday since that's now one less thing he has to worry about.
"I think it's a great testament to how you have to let those things play out. I don't want to get involved in that. Two teammates sitting down and talking it out. Both got new numbers," Schottenheimer said. ... "One of the first things I learned in this business is when you're a head coach, the jerseys are a big deal. It starts in college, but it's a bigger deal in the NFL now than it's ever been. My dad [longtime NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer] didn't have to worry about jersey numbers. They'll both look good in their numbers, I know that."
Living the Dallas dream
Miller, the NFL's active leader in sacks with 138.5, has been used to winning through his NFL career, winning Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos and Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams. He was a regular playoff participant with Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills from 2022 to 2024. However, the wheels came off the wagon for Miller's Washington Commanders in a 5-12 season that saw him lead their team in sacks with 9.0 at 36 years old. Coming home to the Cowboys has brought back his joy.
"That smile has come back. I've always loved playing football. I've been able to play for some amazing teams, amazing quarterbacks and coaches, but there's something different about being here," Miller said. "I'm glad we had that [home] preseason game too because I was in awe. I've played on the other side[line], but I haven't been on this side, wearing white jerseys and playing for the good guys. I needed that acclimation to get all my stardom out. There are still times where I'm awe and starstruck. Every day, it wears off, and I settle into being a Dallas Cowboy. I am living a dream. I truly am."
So what will be Miller's role and/or snap count this season at the age of 37? That hasn't been defined just yet, but he's fired up to be a Cowboys contributor in 2026.
"No, I don't have any plan, but this is my 16th year in the National Football League. I like to think that I'm a coach's dream. I just try to make everybody's job easy, whether it's coaches, players around me, whatever I can do to help contribute to wins, that's why I'm here. Whether that's in the locker room, out there on the football field. I'm still a sack daddy too, so I have my opportunity to just go out there and rush the quarterback as well and contribute to wins."
The coming season may not be the only way Miller works toward Dallas' future success. He spoke about how the general managers in his previous stops like Brandon Beane of the Buffalo Bills and Adam Peters of the Washington Commanders have given him some insight into working in an NFL front office. That's something Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay has done for Miller early on. Perhaps Miller will be a lifelong Dallas Cowboy in addition to managing his chicken farm as he continues to mature.
"Whether it's director of pro personnel, team president, assistant GM, GM …I want to be in the front office, in any capacity," Miller said. "Will [McClay] has done an incredible job of fanning that flame, and giving me a chance to live a triple dream here with the Dallas Cowboys."
Until then, Miller is focused on winning his third Super Bowl ring with the Cowboys in 2026. He knows what a real contender looks like, and believe it or not, he see the right vibes and mindset in Dallas.
"I'm probably the most optimistic player that we got on this team, so yes, I think we have what it takes," Miller said. ... "One of the things that I've been focused on is really just the mindset. I feel like the mindset is the difference between a great team and a Super Bowl team. When the bullets are flying and it's fourth-and-1 for the game, where's our mindset at? And we've been talking about those situations, whether it's offense, defense. And that's one of the joys I've had as well. You know, not every team that I've been on has had that aspiration to be a Super Bowl champ."
