Hire DeMarcus Ware's Generosity

DeMarcus's financial planner must be de man.

Cowboys star LB DeMarcus Ware said he will pass on the emergency money players will begin receiving on Friday as a cushion during the lockout, an act that should definitely be hired.

Ware said: "I think it builds a unity 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."

The NFL Players Union, which no longer exists (wink wink), collected extra money last year so that every player could receive as much as $60,000 (depending on roster time in 2009-2010) during the lockout they knew would come this year. Ware, who has a $79 million contract with $40 million guaranteed, decided he could do without this allowance and let someone more needy have the cash. That doesn't seem like a big deal for someone making that much, but it is. Here's why.

By all logical measures, very few NFL players should need $60,000 to get by for the next year. The veteran minimum in 2010 was $325,000 and rookies made at least $285,000. The problem is that NFL players don't get paid most of their salary if they don't play, and nobody plays a full season. Beyond that, athletes are notoriously bad with their money. Michael Vick will owe creditors $12 million through 2015. Angels outfielder Torri Hunter once sunk $70,000 into inflatable rafts that would protect office furniture during floods (shockingly the idea didn't take off). To put this in a larger perspective: Sports Illustrated reported in 2009 that within two years of retirement, 78% of NFL players are bankrupt or facing financial stress. 

The NFL is hoping to break the players through either the legal system or by bleeding out their finances. If other players followed Ware's example, it would take a lot longer for the owners to get their way, and it might buy the players enough time to get their own win through the legal system. Hats off to Ware for selflessly fighting the man.