Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware doesn’t sell himself short

By MAC ENGEL

IRVING — Standing in a sleek, all-black football uniform and sneering for the cameras, Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware manages to belie his natural soft personality to look every bit the menacing defender that he is on Sundays.

But once the cameras quit popping, Ware’s real personality comes through. This is a happy man, even though he has yet to sign the contract extension he desperately desires to be completed sooner rather than later.

"I think they are getting closer. I’m not frustrated," Ware said Wednesday in the middle of a photo shoot for Venom Energy sports drink, a product he endorses. "At the end of the day, I’m a Ferrari and I appreciate. I’ll leave it at that."

Such Deion Sanders-like swagger isn’t normal out of the reserved Ware’s mouth. But the comment isn’t without merit — he has become the rare celebrity defender who is about to get richer, and possibly become the richest linebacker in NFL history.

The Cowboys remain in negotiations to extend their Pro Bowl linebacker and 2008 NFL sack leader; he’s expected to sign an extension before the start of the 2009 season.

The negotiations hit a snag when defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth signed a seven-year free-agent deal with the Washington Redskins that included $41 million in guarantees and could be worth as much as $100 million. When the... -- Continue reading at the publisher's site