Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

From Super Bowl MVP to chicken farmer?

Von Miller may have his post-football career planned out

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

When all they’ve known for a good portion of their lives is training, practicing and playing, it can come as no surprise when athletes struggle to adapt to their post-playing lives.

But for Super Bowl 50’s MVP Von Miller, he may already have an idea of what lies ahead in his post-football career.

He wants to be (and currently is) a chicken farmer.

The 26-year old linebacker took poultry-related courses during his stint at Texas A&M originally because it seemed like an easy class. He credits his professor’s attitude and the course’s structure as reasons why he gained an interest in poultry farming.

“I needed two easy credits for the semester and I was like, put me in the chicken class,” he tells Tony Richardson in SI Now Special – A Day in the Life with Von Miller. “At first I used to fall asleep – I was just not into the class – but my professor, Dr. [Morgan] Farnell, he’s a huge catalyst about why I’m so passionate about it now. He was just not going to settle for me sleeping through the class. After a while, I became more and more interested.”

Miller said the course was hands on and students found themselves interacting with birds including administering vaccines and feeding.

In the video, Richardson and Miller travel to Lily’s Eggs in California to work alongside farmers.

“The top standard is to have happy birds,” Miller tells farm owner Robert Troppe.

Miller’s 3,000 square-foot-backyard, which he calls Miller Farms, currently houses about 40-50 birds.

Just how much does Miller love poultry?

Enough to have a tattoo of a rooster on his leg.

Von Miller's rooster tattoo
Von Miller's rooster tattoo.
Instagram


Trending Video

How Do Pig Farmers Spread Manure?

Video: How Do Pig Farmers Spread Manure?

In this video, Tork, Sawyer, Mason and David apply pig manure on the farm's acres to fertilize next year’s corn crop.