IRVING, Texas -- Beginning Friday, players will receive money from the NFL Players Association's lockout fund, but Dallas Cowboys All-Pro linebacker DeMarcus Ware has decided to take a pass. In the middle of a $79 million extension that guarantees him $40 million, Ware will not take any money during the lockout so it can be spread among players who are more in need. "I think it builds a unity," said Ware, who is one of Dallas' player representatives, "and lets guys know there are players out there with you, who will give up their $60,000, that this is a brotherhood, this is a fraternity."
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Ware said other players across the league have made the same decision he is making. Players who were on the active roster for every week of the 2009 and 2010 seasons are eligible to receive $60,000 over a six-week period during the lockout. Players have paid into the fund through union dues. Ware made an appearance Wednesday at Farine Elementary School in Irving and ended up making a $5,000 donation to help with a first-grader's medical bills. Misael Rico was struck by a car in January and his best friend's brother, Samuel Park, wrote an essay about the experience that won a visit by Ware as part of the MetroPCS "Take a Player to School" contest. To date, $50,000 has been raised, Ware's contribution included. "I was going to make a speech and talk to the kids about goal-setting and all of a sudden I just thought, 'You're a blessed guy and you have enough money, so let's help out,'" Ware said. "It just kind of came over me because I wanted to help the cause."
