DeMarcus Ware Reacts to Being Nominated to Pro Football Hall of Fame (Exclusive)

DeMarcus Ware is one step closer to reaching the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Last month, the former Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos linebacker was named as one of the 123 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Ware, who talked about having the chance to join the football immortals in Canton, Ohio.

"You know, dreams do come true," Ware told PopCulture. "When you think about etching your name in history, in not just professional football, but in a state to where you didn't grow up there, but you had such a big impact in the state of Texas, which was awesome. And then also to sort of rewind the tape, the Alabama Hall of Fame, that was big — I'm from Auburn, Alabama, and being nominated for the Alabama Hall of Fame.

"I started thinking to myself that, you know what, you did something right, all that hard work that you put in, you can start seeing yourself benefit from all of those things. And it was just cool. I mean, it's still surreal to think about, you are part of history now. So when somebody starts looking at Texas history, Alabama history, you're part of that."

In the next step for Ware's Hall of Fame fate, the committee will name 25 semifinalists and then 15 finalists in January. They will then select the five to seven members of the Hall of Fame class right before the Super Bowl in February. For Ware, he will be in the Hall of Fame very soon if not next year. Ware was a member of the Cowboys from 2005-2013 and the Broncos from 2014-2016. In his career, Ware recorded 138.5 sacks, which is good for the ninth-best total in NFL history. He was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times, the All-Pro Team seven times and led the NFL in sacks in 2008 and 2010. He also won a Super Bowl as a member of the Broncos in 2015 and was selected to the 2000s All-Decade Team.

But did Ware ever dream about being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? "No, not at all, man," Ware said. "I had the first thing I want to do is get a good job, make money for a family. I didn't even think about football. "Football was, you know, my go-to, it was the second thing I was thinking about school was first and you know what? God gave me some talents to go out there and play. And lo and behold, you're getting drafted by the Dallas Cowboys."