DeMarcus Ware played a key role in the Denver Broncos historic run to Super Bowl 50, and he returns to the Broncos as one of the team’s most important leaders moving forward.

Ware took a significant pay cut in order to stay a member of the Broncos this season, which shows exactly how committed he is to to the organization moving forward. Ware could have gotten big money on a short term deal somewhere else, but the veteran pass-rusher chose to stay in the orange and blue.

“I knew with all the moves in free agency and guys that were unrestricted or restricted, I knew that they were going to come at me and say, ‘DeMarcus, do you want to take a pay cut. Do you want to restructure,” Ware said, according to a quote sheet released by the team. “I was welcoming it. I know that it’s that part of my career where what I bring to the game is intangible things [likes] leadership, motivating the guys and getting out there and playing when I can.”

As an impact member of the Denver defense, Ware recorded 7.5 sacks in 2015, and his leadership on the field was evident in the playoffs. Against New England in the AFC Championship Game and Carolina in the Super Bowl, Ware played some of the best football in his career. Players like Ware are a coach’s dream because they give everything they have on the field, and also make an impact on the surrounding players.

“You’ve got guys like [OLB] Shaq [Barrett]. You’ve got guys like [OLB] Shane [Ray] that were productive this year,” Ware said of his young teammates. “One thing I saw and I told him, I said, ‘I feel like those guys are ready, but they also need that veteran leadership.’ Whatever we need to do to keep me here, I was very involved with Elway talking back and forth with him. That’s why I like him. As a general manager, you can talk to him and be man to man and say, ‘This is what we can’t do and this is what we can do,’ and talk face to face and get it done.”

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Ware will be 34 years old this season, so obviously he is in the latter stages of his career. At this point he is more of a third down pass-rusher than a three down impact player, but Ware is excellent at this role. With the Broncos current young depth on the outside, Ware does not need to be an every down impact player.

Barrett and Ray are expected to play an increased role this season, and having Ware around can only further the development of the talented duo. The progress the young linebackers made was substantial from the beginning of last season to the Broncos eventual Super Bowl Championship. Ware expects the duo to elevate their game even further in 2016.

“When you see guys like Shaq and Shane,” Ware spoke of his teammates. “They come in here that first year. I’m talking about Shaq first. He was playing off of a lot of athleticism. Now he’s learning the game, the formations, how to go out and attack them.”

Ware continued on his young teammates, “Also talking to Shane the same way. I told them you can use your athleticism to a certain point, but when you can think about the mental aspects of the game—the fundamentals, the techniques—that’s what is going to get you over the top. How consistent can you be throughout a whole game instead of a play here or a play there. When it comes to crunch time, are you going to show up. I think that’s how those guys will mature this year, and they have another whole year with me and [OLB] Von [Miller] and all of us together. I think it’s going to be a better year than we had last year.”

Considering how dominant the Denver defense was last season, it is not likely that they will actually be better than last season, but the mindset Ware brings to the table is exactly why Elway wanted to keep him. With the Sheriff riding off into the sunset, losing Ware would have been a big blow. Having him around to be a role model for the entire Broncos organization, but more specifically the young defenders, means the Broncos are trying to continue their standard of excellence.

Ware is not the player he used to be, but he is still one of the most impactful players in the league. He is the epitome of class and hard work, and Broncos fans should be thrilled that the veteran superstar will be playing a third year in Denver.