What Is DeMarcus Ware's Net Worth?
DeMarcus Ware is a retired American football defensive end who has a net worth of $35 million. DeMarcus Ware played for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos and is a Super Bowl Champion.
Early Life
DeMarcus Omar Ware was born on July 31, 1982, in Auburn, Alabama. He attended Auburn High School and played football. As a senior, Ware won every game, was named the team's Most Valuable Wide Receiver and Linebacker and was awarded the team's Top Leadership honors. He finished the season with seven sacks and 55 total tackles (40 solo, 15 assisted). He also participated in Track and field and was a state top performer in the long jump.
DeMarcus accepted a scholarship to Troy University, where he played for the Trojans football team and was a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection. He dominated as a senior and was a finalist for the Hendricks Award, which is handed out to the top defensive end in college football. In 2004, he helped lead the team to the school's first bowl appearance in the Silicon Valley Football Classic. Ware was named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Decade Team. He was inducted into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame in 2014.
NFL
With the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected DeMarcus. He spent nine seasons with the Cowboys, making the Pro Bowl seven times and leading the NFL in sacks twice. Ware was a four-time First-team All-Pro, three-time Second-team All-Pro, and two-time winner of the Butkus Award. He was released by the team in March 2014, and one day later, he signed a contract with the Denver Broncos. While with the Broncos, DeMarcus made the Pro Bowl two more times, bringing his total Pro Bowl appearances to nine. He was part of the 2015 Denver Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50 by defeating the Carolina Panthers 24-10. Ware was responsible for five tackles and two sacks in the win.
In 2017, DeMarcus announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons and 138.5 sacks. He signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
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Contracts & Earnings
Ware played out his rookie contract of five years, $13 million with the Dallas Cowboys before signing a six-year, $78 million extension with the team in 2009. One day after becoming a free agent in 2014, DeMarcus signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Denver Broncos that included $20 million guaranteed.
Over his NFL career, Ware made $90 million in salary alone.
DeMarcus was offered $9 million by an unnamed team to stay in the league one more season, but he turned the offer down.
Personal Life
DeMarcus married his high school sweetheart, Taniqua Smith, in 2005. After pregnancy difficulties, including the birth and death of their son, Omar, in 2006, they adopted their daughter, Marley. In 2010, they had a son, DeMarcus Ware II. The couple separated in 2012.
It was announced in September 2018 that DeMarcus would compete on season 27 of "Dancing with the Stars." He and his dancing partner, Lindsay Arnold, were eliminated during week seven of the competition, ending in a seventh-place tie with John Schneider and Emma Slater.
