NEW YORK – Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller has been invited to the NFL draft even though he's a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the league.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Miller is among 20 college players invited to the April 28-30 draft. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the NFL has not yet announced who it is inviting.
Miller won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker and is expected to be a high pick in the first round. He has not yet responded to the invitation, the person said.
On March 11, Miller joined Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and six other NFL players in the lawsuit seeking an injunction in a Minnesota court to block the lockout.
Miller's agent, Joby Branion, works for Athletes First, a representation company in Irvine, Calif., where one of the agents is Andrew Kessler, the son of Jeffrey Kessler. The elder Kessler has been an outside counsel for the NFL Players Association for years and was directly involved in the players seeking the injunction to block the lockout.
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