Von Miller Gets No. 40 After Deal With Hunter Luepke as 15 Cowboys Confirm Jersey Numbers

It's official: Von Miller will be wearing his usual jersey number for the 2026 NFL season.

The Dallas Cowboys announced on Thursday that Miller has reached a deal with fullback Hunter Luepke, who wore Miller's number before he arrived in Dallas.

Luepke will now wear No. 30 instead, and he was one of 15 Dallas players who confirmed their jersey numbers for the 2026 season.

Here's the full list:

11 - Alijah Clark, S
18 - Jonathan Mingo, WR
23 - Ameer Speed, CB
25 - Israel Abanikanda, RB
30 - Hunter Luepke, FB
31 - Emari Demercado, RB
40 - Von Miller, OLB
47 - Mitch Van Vooren, TE
59 - Tyrus Wheat, OLB
64 - Wanya Morris, OT
77 - Broderick Jones, OT
80 - Camden Brown, WR
81 - Jordan Hudson, WR
90 - Jonathan Bullard, DT
93 - Elijah Garcia, DT

One notable name not on that list is safety Caleb Downs, who has decided to stick with the No. 13.

Miller had been wearing the No. 40 since arriving in Dallas, but, of course, two players can't wear the same jersey number once the season starts, so something had to give.

And finally it has.

Details of Miller's deal with Luepke

Dallas Cowboys running back Hunter Luepke. — Dallas Cowboys running back Hunter Luepke (40) walks off the field during practice at the Ford Center at the Star Training Facility in Frisco, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Miller made multiple offers to Luepke for the number, with those offers including free chicken for life from his company, Greener Pastures Chicken, and paying for a full-body tattoo.

According to Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com, Luepke and Miller's deal centers around the former getting an equity stake in the latter's company, Greener Pastures Chicken.

"Instead, he offered up a variety of options to woo it away from him — including a free chicken for life and full-body tattoo work, but the two ultimately agreed on Luepke receiving an undisclosed amount of equity in Miller's chicken company, Greener Pastures Chicken," Walker wrote.

It isn't clear exactly how much equity Luepke got, but we do know based on comments Miller made on his "Free Range w/ Von Miller" podcast that the fullback was looking for two percent.

Miller went on to note that a two-percent stake equals out to in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, so chances are he didn't give in to that request.

"Being the great negotiator he is, how about equity in Greener Pastures Chicken?" Miller said of his negotiation with Luepke.

"I was like, it's something that we could probably work out," Miller added. "(Luepke) wanted two-percent equity, which would be in the multiple hundreds and thousands of dollars."

If Miller were to give in to that much, he would fully cement himself as a Hall of Fame teammate, something he claims he already is, and that might equate to the highest price ever paid for a jersey number in NFL history.

— Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter for more free coverage from Dallas Cowboys on SI —

Add us as a preferred source on Google