Von Miller Biography

Von Miller was born Vonnie B’Vsean Miller Jr. on March 26, 1989, in Dallas, Texas, to Von and Gloria Miller. Both his parents were athletes in their high school and college days. He has a younger brother named Vinsynzie. His father owned a power-supply business.

He graduated from DeSoto High School in Texas, where he actively participated in athletics and played for the DeSoto Eagles, the high school football team. He competed in track and field events, such as hurdles, triple jump, and javelin throw. He was named the most valuable defensive player of the school football team. By the end of high school, he was considered a four-star recruit and was ranked number 15 as a defensive player.

Von Miller joined Texas A&M University to study poultry farming in 2007 and played for their football team, the Texas A&M Aggies. The Sporting News named him the Freshman All-Big 12 in his first year with the team. Towards the beginning of 2008, he was suspended by Coach Mike Sherman for low attendance. He returned to play at the weak side linebacker position later in the year.

2009 was a good season for Miller. He was named to the All Big-12 first-team and the All-American first-team. In his final year of the university, he won the Butkus Award for his remarkable performance as a linebacker.

Von Miller was considered a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and entered the 2011 NFL Draft as one of the best three outside linebackers. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in July 2011 and officially signed a contract with the team soon after. His first professional game for the club was against the Oakland Raiders in September 2011. He ended the season as the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and was selected for the 2012 Pro Bowl.

He began the 2012 season with 10 sacks in nine games. He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice and the AFC Defensive Player of the Month once. He finished second in the run for the Defensive Player of the Year.

Toward the beginning of 2013, he was listed at number nine on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013 list. He was suspended for six games in July that year for violating league policy and dodging a drug test. He ended the season prematurely due to an injury.

After recovering from his injury, Von Miller improved his game to achieve 14 sacks and 59 tackles in the 2014 season. By the end of the 2015 season, he was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) and ranked 15th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016 list.

In July 2016, he signed a six-year contract worth $114.5 million with the Broncos, which made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. He was the second-ranked player on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 list, making him the highest-ranked defensive player.

Von Miller was named the 2018 Pro Bowl defensive MVP and had several Broncos records to his name.

On November 1, 2021, Von Miller was traded to the Los Angeles Rams. During the 2021-22 season, Miller helped the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI, his second Super Bowl title.

Von Miller was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2011.

He has been named to the All-American and the All-Big 12 first-teams twice each.

He has also been named to the All-Pro first-team and the All-Pro second-team thrice each.

He was named to the Pro Bowl six times and has won the Butkus Award twice.

Equipped with a degree in poultry science, Von Miller owns a poultry farm and raises chickens as a business. He is addicted to speed and was charged with over-speeding on two occasions. He was also charged with illegally landing a hammerhead shark while he was on a tour on the coast of Florida.

In 2012, Miller created Von’s Vision with the aim of helping underprivileged children gain access to eye care and spectacles. As part of the program, the children of Denver are screened in schools and provided with adequate eyewear, free of cost.

He had been dating Rona Gonzalez since 2011. The couple broke up in 2016. Von Miller started dating K. Michelle in 2016. He has also been linked with Instagram model and dancer Me’Gan Denise. He lodged a restraining order against model Elizabeth Ruiz after she tried to extort $2.5 million from him for a sex tape.

Miller wore the jersey number 58 to honor his favorite player, the late Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs.

He is also known by the nickname Chinese Dragon.

He created his own sack celebration dance called The DeSoto Shuffle with Ubisoft. Every time he performs the dance during a game, Ubisoft donates funds to Miller’s foundation for the benefit of the underprivileged.

He participated as a celebrity contestant, along with professional dancer Witney Carson, in season 22 of the show Dancing with the Stars.