Von Miller, posing for a selfie with fans, and Hunter Luepke both wore No. 40 in the preseason, and on Thursday, the two agreed to have Miller wear the number with the Rams and Bills. Christian Peterson / Getty Images
FRISCO, Texas – Von Miller has earned his jersey number. All it took was giving up some ownership of the poultry farm.
When the seven-time All-Pro signed with the Dallas Cowboys last month, he made it clear that he wanted to wear jersey number 40 in high school, college and with the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills.
But it already is Cowboys fullback Hunter Luepke. Both players wore their numbers during training camp. Miller officially received the replacement for a percentage of the company Thursday.
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“You have to give Hunter a big (shoutout). He learned from the best of the best negotiators here with the Cowboys. It came down to the last minute but we got it done. I don’t want to go into the details, but I’m glad to say he’s my business partner. Greener Pasture Chicken is part of Champion Chicken.”
Miller’s company owns franchises from other current and former NFL players, including Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees and Nick Foles. Lupke switched to number 30.
“It was a perfect fit for us,” Miller said. “It was a perfect fit for him. I’m glad we were able to get it done.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has done his best to stay out of the jersey number debate.
“I think it’s a good indication that you have to let these things happen,” he said. “I don’t want to get involved in that. … One of the first things I’ve learned in this business is when you’re a head coach, the jersey is a big deal. I think it starts in college. It’s a bigger deal now than it was in the NFL.”
“My dad (Marty Schottenheimer) never cared about jersey numbers.”
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