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Von Miller purposefully cropped out John Elway from White House Instagram photo

ESPN's Adam Schefter says the catty gesture was done in retaliation for the way the Broncos have handled his contract negotiations.

By Alex Reimer
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Von Miller's contract dispute with the Denver Broncos has spilled over to social media. In an Instagram post Friday, Miller cropped out Broncos general manager John Elway from a photo he took during the team's White House visit last week. We now know the slight was intentional.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Miller purposefully cut Elway out of the picture due to his unhappiness with the way his negotiations have been handled. Miller, who was franchised earlier this offseason, recently turned down a six-year, $114.5 million deal that would've made him one of the highest-paid defensive players in football. Talks between the two sides have reportedly been tabled for the time being.

Miller's passive-aggressive gesture was exposed when he shared a post from DeMarcus Ware. The veteran defensive end posted a picture with Peyton Manning, Gary Kubiak, Elway and Miller that was taken on the White House lawn. The version that Miller put on his page, however, didn't feature Elway.

The Broncos and Miller have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal, or else he'll play out the season on his $14 million franchise tag. There's chance that Miller could opt to sit out the 2016 season in order to prohibit Denver from placing an exclusive tag on him again, but that seems far-fetched at this point.

The MMQB's Albert Breer says Miller's main contention with the Broncos is the guaranteed money they've offered him. Denver wants to guarantee $39.8 million over the first two years, which the Miller camp feels is too low. Pass-rushers Justin Houston and Olivier Vernon have received $52.2 million and $52.5 million guaranteed over the last two years.

It's unlikely that Miller's photo crop will make much of a difference at the negotiating table, but at least he's let the Broncos know his cattiness on social media matches his ferociousness on the football field.

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