IRVING, Texas - Nothing that took place late Monday afternoon at Valley Ranch was a big surprise.
The fact the Cowboys locked DeMarcus Ware up for the majority of his career was expected. The fact Ware got a whopping $78 million over six years, including $40 million guaranteed, wasn't a shock. If anything, I thought it might have been a little higher.
And the fact that Ware graciously handled himself with class, something that's not the easiest thing in the world when someone gives you nearly $80 million (like I would know), wasn't a surprise either.
But let's be honest, it's hard to be humble when you know you're going to get about $20 million in straight cash later that night. And another $25 million over the next 12 months. But Ware somehow found a way to keep the team aspect in play, although it was certainly his day and his moment.
But that's DeMarcus. That's the soft-spoken, wide-eyed, selfless player the Cowboys drafted back in 2005. That's the player he's been through his ups and . . . has there been any downs? I guess the four games this year when Superman didn't tackle the quarterback was considered a slump.
My point is that DeMarcus hasn't changed in four years. To us, he's the same guy he was when he first walked through the Valley Ranch doors. You can't say that about every player. In fact, most players do change. It's not their fault, their lives have changed. The demands on them change and so they have to sometimes act accordingly.
Let's see what happens with DeMarcus. Who knows, money could change his attitude or his performance, or both. But I highly doubt that.
And the Cowboys don't expect any changes from Ware either. Maybe that's why they waited a little bit. Maybe they wanted to see just a tad more from him before they invested so much. But I think we all know that's not even the case.
Everything you've ever heard about Ware is nothing short of "high character" and a player you want to build the team around. Ware is not the only money-bags on this team, but he's the richest right now. So with that, you can say the Cowboys are building this team and its future around Ware.
Just walking the halls at Valley Ranch on Monday, you got a sense from the people within the organization - and we're talking about everyone from Marketing personnel, to the TV crew and Internet to even the coaching staff - that everyone was genuinely happy for DeMarcus.
It's not easy to watch another person collect $78 million, especially in the world we live in today. But for some reason, everyone was happy for Ware. Here's a guy who never really said anything negative about his contract or the negotiations.
He answered the questions politely when asked and just went about his business. Sure, it's not easy to go out and play with a huge contract sitting on the table. But he stayed true to himself, his agent, and at the same time he stayed true to his teammates and organization as well.
So when his day finally comes, there's nothing but excitement for a player like that.
One guy in the building late Monday said, "It's hard to see some guys get contracts like that. But when a guy like DeMarcus gets it, you're happy for him."
And not just DeMarcus, but his immediate family, too. If you go to the Cowboys games, you'll see hundreds of No. 94 jerseys. Yet, he doesn't have a bigger fan than his wife, Taniqua, a high school sweetheart. She's been there since the younger days in Auburn, Ala., through DeMarcus' times at Troy University and now with the Cowboys.
About four years ago, I did a TV story on DeMarcus at his house, interviewing both him and his wife about being in the NFL just one season.
I remember we had to stop the interview at one point because DeMarcus had another radio interview he had to do. So he went to his office and got on the phone while Taniqua sat at a radio in the house and listened. Even though he had been in the league for a year, you could see her excitement just listening to her husband on the radio.
You see that excitement every game as she stands in her front-row seat at Texas Stadium and now in their field-level suite at Cowboys Stadium. And, of course, you saw that excitement as she stood there Monday in what could be the most important day in their lives, along with their daughter Marley.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the game of football and the economics of it. Who's making this and that and what player isn't pulling his weight and not earning his pay?
In reality, all of these guys are making money that normal people like you and me would die for.
But when you sift through all of that and remember that these people are just regular folks, you can't help but get excited for them.
I have one more story that I'm not real excited about admitting to, but back in 2005, when the Cowboys were on the clock at No. 11. I shook my head when I heard Ware's name come across the TV. I didn't think he was the right pick for the Cowboys. And no, I didn't think they should've taken Shawne Merriman either.
Nope, this guy right here thought Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson was the real playmaker and catalytic defensive stud this team needed.
Man, not the first or last time I've been dead wrong.
In reality, picking Ware back in 2005 might be one of the best decisions Jerry Jones has ever made.
And with that, locking DeMarcus up the way he did on Monday could rank a close second.
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Nick Eatman - 
