Von Miller returned home to Texas this offseason after the Dallas Cowboys signed the eight-time Pro Bowler to a one-year, $5.5 million deal.
However, the veteran pass rusher encountered one complication after arriving at The Star, as Cowboys fullback Hunter Luepke already owned his preferred No. 40, the one he used during his NFL stints at Buffalo and Los Angeles between 2021 and 2024.
On Thursday, Miller announced on his “Free Range” podcast that the negotiations between the two for the rights to No. 40 are officially over. Miller will wear it while Luepke will switch to No. 30.
On top of that, the negotiations led to Miller announcing a personal update about his Greener Pastures Chicken company, revealing the two Cowboys teammates have become business partners after Miller gave Luepke an ownership stake in exchange for the number.
“You got to give Hunter a great [shout] out,” Miller said. “He’s learned from the best with the negotiators here with the Cowboys. It went down to the final hour, but we were able to get it done.
“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.”
Miller initially proposed a lifetime supply of chicken in exchange for the number he wore in high school, at Texas A&M and at times in the NFL. Luepke countered with the equity offer.
“Being the great negotiator he is, he was like, ‘How about equity in Greener Pastures Chicken?’” Miller said on his Free Range podcast. “I was like, ‘It’s something that we could probably work out.’”
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Miller, who majored in poultry science at Texas A&M and co-founded Greener Pastures Chicken in 2018, didn’t reveal the exact percentage of ownership Luepke received.
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Miller is coming off a nine-sack season in 17 games played with the Washington Commanders last year, his lone season with the franchise and the first one he appeared in all regular-season games since 2018.
Miller, Luepke and the Cowboys open the season against the New York Giants on Sunday, Sept. 13.
