DALLAS — Von Miller texted DeMarcus Ware that the Dallas Cowboys had called him before any of it was public, Ware said during an appearance on WFAA‘s Ultimate Dallas Sports Show.
Miller agreed to terms with Dallas on Aug. 16 on a one-year deal and signed in Oxnard later that week. The contract is worth $5.5 million and carries a maximum value of $7.5 million, with a $3 million signing bonus, a $1.5 million base salary, $1.2 million in roster bonuses, and four voidable years. Another $2 million is tied to sacks and a playoff appearance.
Seeing Miller work out in Frisco with the Cowboys’ pass rush specialist was the point at which Ware thought a signing might happen.
“Just to see how cool it is now with Von coming here. I’m really, really excited about it,” Ware said. “And that smile was when he was like, ‘Hey, bro, the Dallas Cowboys are talking to me.’ I said, ‘What?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ And I saw them working out in Frisco with their defensive line coach and everything. Not their coach, but their pass rush specialist. And I’m like, this might happen.”
“And so then he texted me. He was like, ‘What’s up?’ And this was before anybody said anything,” Ware continued. “I’m like, ‘Hey, did you get a call?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, bro, I’m up here. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m up here.'”
Miller has trained with Brandon “BT” Jordan, whom Dallas hired in February as its pass rush specialist. Jordan founded Trench Performance and spent last season in Denver. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Jordan had spent the past year pushing the team toward Miller.
Miller is a DeSoto native and went second overall to the Denver Broncos out of Texas A&M in 2011. He has 138.5 career sacks in 203 regular-season games, the most among active players. Cameron Jordan is next among active players, 6.5 behind. Miller’s total ties Ware for ninth on the NFL’s official list, which dates to 1982.
Von Miller Posted From Oxnard Weeks Before Signing
Ware said Miller’s Instagram story from Oxnard went up two to three weeks before he signed.
“I remember seeing a picture that Von posted on his Instagram story, in Oxnard hanging out with my boy Matt Pittman from Meat Church,” Ware explained. “And I’m like, in Oxnard. I’m like, he’s in Oxnard. This was like two, three weeks before he signed. I’m like, all right, something’s percolating here. I don’t know if it’s going to happen. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but something’s coming here.”
“It’s not about the chicken right now. As good as Matt Pittman is, that t-shirt is for real, but that ain’t why he’s in Oxnard,” Ware added. “Oh, my God. It wasn’t about the chicken.”
Miller attended a Cowboys training camp practice in Oxnard on Aug. 3 and posted about it on Instagram. Matt Pittman founded Meat Church BBQ in Waxahachie and has cooked for the team at camp in Oxnard.
Last season with the Washington Commanders, Miller played 17 games and started 3. He finished with 9 sacks, 26 combined tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 15 quarterback hits while playing 36.9% of the defensive snaps.
DeMarcus Ware Played With Cowboys Defensive Line Coach Marcus Dixon
Ware played with Marcus Dixon, now the Cowboys’ defensive line coach.
“And so once that happened, I’m just waiting on the news and see are they going to sign him,” Ware said. “He said, ‘I got to FaceTime.’ And he’s like right there like, ‘Bro!’ And I’m like, that’s what I’m talking about. You know how it feels.”
“And now when I go over there, I got one of my boys there. But Derrick Ansley’s there too. He’s a cornerback coach. And Marcus Dixon, I played with him,” Ware noted. “So it’s like I go back over there. It’s just so fun, man, to be in that atmosphere now.”
Dixon signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Hampton in 2008 and spent three years with the organization without appearing in a regular-season game for the Cowboys. Ware was in his fourth NFL season that year. Dixon coached the defensive line for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and 2025 and for the Broncos in 2022 and 2023, and Dallas hired him on Feb. 3.
Derrick Ansley joined the staff on Jan. 31 as defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach after two seasons with the Green Bay Packers. Ryan Smith coaches the secondary.
Miller and Ware spent three seasons together in Denver and won Super Bowl 50 in February 2016, with Miller named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Ware retired after that season. He played nine years in Dallas, left in 2013 with a franchise-record 117 sacks, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Dallas went 7-9-1 last season and tied for 26th in the NFL in sacks. The Cowboys allowed 511 points, the most in the league. The outside linebacker room around Miller includes Rashan Gary, who arrived by trade this offseason, first-round pick Malachi Lawrence, and Donovan Ezeiruaku, the team’s second-round pick in 2025. In Oxnard, Miller told Ezeiruaku he wanted to be his DeMarcus Ware.
The Cowboys open the season Sept. 13 at the New York Giants. Kickoff is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
