Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Von Miller secured his preferred jersey No. 40 for the upcoming NFL season after negotiating a deal with fullback Hunter Luepke. The agreement included an undisclosed equity stake in Miller’s organic poultry company, Greener Pastures Chicken, alongside the promise of lifetime poultry supply.
The veteran pass rusher wanted to wear No. 40—the digit he sported at DeSoto High School, Texas A&M, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Buffalo Bills—but fullback Hunter Luepke had occupied that exact number since entering the league in 2023.
With the NFL prohibiting duplicate numbers during the regular season, both players initially practiced wearing No. 40 as the situation hung in the balance. Rather than resorting to cash payouts or luxury gifts commonly seen across professional football, Miller turned to his agricultural roots to resolve the standoff.
From Instagram Direct Messages to Business Partners
The negotiation began quietly on social media. Miller reached out to Luepke via Instagram direct message and initially floated an offer of chicken for life alongside $40,000 to $50,000 to cover full-body tattoo work. Luepke countered with a request for a 2 percent equity stake in Greener Pastures Chicken, a 35-acre regenerative organic poultry farm based in Elgin, Texas, that Miller co-founded.
Miller detailed the unique bargaining process on the Season 2 premiere of his Audacy podcast, Free Range with Von Miller, which he co-hosts with TJ Banks. Was able to get number 40 from Hunter Luepke, which we had to kind of do some negotiating at first,
Miller said. He’s been 40 for a long time. It ain’t something that I just can come in and boss-hog the number out of his ownership.
“You got to give Hunter a great [shout] out,” Miller said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “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.”
Although Miller said Luepke initially asked for two percent of the company, the final terms landed on an unspecified percentage of the USDA-certified organic poultry processing facility in Elgin, Texas.
Roster Decisions and Official Number Assignments
The transaction concluded just ahead of the NFL roster deadlines. The club announced Thursday in a post on its website by staff writer Patrik Walker that Von Miller will wear No. 40 for the Dallas Cowboys this season and fullback Hunter Luepke will move to No. 30. Dallas published 15 number assignments Thursday afternoon, including those three decisions alongside rookie safety Caleb Downs staying at No. 13. Miller explained that he deliberately ruled out wearing No. 58 because that was his number with the Broncos, and he also won’t wear No. 94 since it is so closely associated with DeMarcus Ware in Dallas.
Luepke joins an elite group of athlete-investors in Miller’s agricultural enterprise. Greener Pastures Chicken counts fellow current and former players Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, and Nick Foles among its stakeholders in the facility where Miller majored in poultry science at Texas A&M and took a poultry meat production class.
“[Luepke] was a great fit for us,” said Miller, who majored in poultry science at Texas A&M. “It was a great fit for him. I’m happy that we were able to get it done.”
Looking Ahead to the Regular Season Opener
With the jersey swap finalized and business partnerships secured, both players turn their attention to the upcoming campaign. Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the agreement on Aug. 16 for one year at $5.5 million, with the deal able to reach $7.5 million, while Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the terms. Miller signed to join his hometown Dallas Cowboys shortly after training camp this offseason, looking to bolster the pass rush that was missing Micah Parsons last season after the Penn State product was traded to the Green Bay Packers.
Worth a look
