Former Bronco takes the stage on ‘The Masked Singer’

Football isn’t former Denver Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware’s only talent.

Ware, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023, took the stage for FOX’s “The Masked Singer” during its 11th season. He traded his jersey for a koala suit for the episode that aired Wednesday, April 10.

The show pits celebrities against each other in a singing competition. Setting it apart from similar shows, contestants are completely disguised in costumes. Throughout the episode, panelists try to guess the singers’ identities with the help of clues. When contestants are voted off, their mask is taken off and their identity is revealed.

Dubbed Transformers Night, all songs in the episode were included in a “Transformers” movie soundtrack. The Hall of Famer was the wild card and performed Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” He baffled the entire panel of judges, including Jenny McCarthy, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Rita Ora, as none of them could correctly guess his identity. His clues, including Colorado, being defensive and being a champion didn’t help, leading judges to guess other former players, including Deion Sanders, Terry Crews, Michael Irvin and Shannon Sharpe.

Speaking to his experience on the show, Ware said, “I mean, all my life I’ve always worn a mask, but I sacked quarterbacks doing that. And now I put on the Koala mask and no one knew who I was, and so the true personality of me actually came out. I got to have fun. It was one of the funnest experiences I’ve ever had.”

This isn’t the athlete’s first time performing in front of a crowd, though. Proceeding last year’s Hall of Fame game between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns, he sang the national anthem. He dedicated the performance to his former Broncos teammate, Demaryius Thomas, whom he would sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” with on the sidelines before games. Thomas died in 2021 from complications of a seizure disorder. According to Ware, the idea for him to come on the show originated when producers saw the performance.

Ware’s last season with the Broncos was 2015-2016, after the team won Super Bowl 50. Ware spent 2005-2013 with the Dallas Cowboys, and 2014-2016 with the Broncos during his 12 seasons in the NFL. He capped off his career with the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Another former football player performed during the episode, Colton Underwood. Underwood appeared on the 14th season of “The Bachelorette,” the 23rd season of “The Bachelor” and later was the subject of the unscripted Netflix series “Coming Out Colton.” Underwood appeared as “Lovebird” and performed “All That You Are” by Goo Goo Dolls.

Ware was eliminated after the second round of voting. The next episode of “The Masked Singer” will air Wednesday, April 17, at 7 p.m. MT.

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