I recently wrote a piece on veteran NFL players who were playing poorly during their contract year. News has broke from the Dallas Cowboys that they have signed DeMarcus Ware to a 6-year/$78,000,001 contract with nearly $40 million guaranteed. I will explain the added $1, shortly.
Before signing this big extension, Ware was boasting a 22-tackle, 2-sack season here in 2009. After shaking on a deal with Jerry Jones, he posted 2 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble this past Sunday. In a sport where many players go “soft” after getting paid, the Cowboys did a great job of realizing that maybe DeMarcus Ware wasn’t playing well because he wasn’t getting paid enough. Interesting theory.
Now, on to the $1. It is being reported that Jerry Jones handed Ware a $1 bill with this message scribbled on it: “This is my last offer. Your great. Jerry Jones.”
When asked by the media what he thought of the deal, DeMarcus Ware had this to say:
“I feel like I work really hard and am really deserving of what they’ve given me. All this is behind me now. It’s time to get to work.”
Now that’s a player I want on my team.