Cashing-In: DeMarcus Ware Signs 6-Year Extension for $78 Million

The Dallas Cowboys signed Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware to a 6-year contract extension which will keep him in a Cowboys uniform through the 2015 season.  The deal is worth $78 million with $40 million guaranteed.  Ware receives $20 million immediately in a signing bonus and another $14 million within the next 12 months.  That's a total of $34 million in the first year of the deal.  The first 3 years are worth $45 million.  The extension is one of the richest for a defensive player in league history.

"It's just awesome to have this opportunity," Ware said during the press conference to announce the new contract.  "I feel like I've worked really hard and am deserving of what they've given me...It's sort of like a dream.  When you're younger and you're playing video games, you see the Emmitt Smith's and you see the Michael Irvin's playing in the game.  Now you feel part of that tradition.  A tradition of winning.  A tradition of good Texas football is what I would say." 

"(Ware) is a cornerstone player of this franchise and will be for a long time to come," noted Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones.  "He's exceeded by a nice degree the expectations we had for him.  He's gone beyond anything we could have imagined when we drafted him (in 2005)."

Since joining the Cowboys as a rookie 1st round draft pick in 2005 as the 11th overall selection, Ware has been named to 3 Pro Bowls.  He has compiled 57 1/2 sacks -- the most by any linebacker over the past four seasons.  Ware led the NFL in 2008 with 20 sacks.

"I've been lucky to be around a lot of good ones," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said of pass-rushers he's coached in more than 30 years in the NFL.  "He's at the top of the class, and it doesn't take long to call the roll.  He's very special that way. But he's an all-around player, and he plays the run well too. That's what you really like about him."

In comparison to other big-money deals, Ware's is among the richest.  The Redskins made Albert Haynesworth the highest paid player in NFL history when they signed him to a 7-year, $100 million deal with $41 million guaranteed.  Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs signed this summer for 6-years and $62.5 million with $38.1 million guaranteed.  Two years ago, the Vikings signed defensive end Jared Allen to a 6-year deal worth $74.5 million with $34 million guaranteed.

Ware's $45 million in the first 3 years is the same as Oakland CB Nnamdi Asomugha's deal which was signed last year.

Jones said that he heard from Ware's agent, Pat Dye, around noon on Sunday.  Negotiations on the contract extension which had lasted 10 months were finally complete; Dye & Ware had agreed to the Cowboys' latest offer.  During pregame stretching prior to the Cowboys-Falcons game, Jones walked-up to Ware on the field and both men shook hands on the deal.  The contract was signed Monday afternoon following the press conference.

"In the last 20 years, nothing has stood in our way of signing players," said Jones who gave Ware the biggest signing bonus and guaranteed money in franchise history.  "This is another example to our fans.  We mean business, we're trying to get it done."

"It's time for me to get to work," noted Ware.  "You know what it's time to bring home?  I'm not going to say it (Lombardi Trophy), but you know what it is."