IRVING, Texas — Standing in a sleek, all-black football uniform and sneering for the cameras, Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware manages to belie his natural soft personality to look every bit the menacing defender that he is on Sundays.

But once the cameras quit popping, Ware's real personality comes through. This is a happy man, even though he has yet to sign the contract extension he desperately desires to be completed sooner rather than later.

"I think they are getting closer. I'm not frustrated," Ware said Wednesday in the middle of a photo shoot for Venom Energy sports drink, a product he endorses. "At the end of the day, I'm a Ferrari and I appreciate. I'll leave it at that."

Such Deion Sanders-like swagger isn't normal out of the reserved Ware's mouth. But the comment isn't without merit — he has become the rare celebrity defender who is about to get richer, and possibly become the richest linebacker in NFL history.

The Cowboys remain in negotiations to extend their Pro Bowl linebacker and 2008 NFL sack leader; he's expected to sign an extension before the start of the 2009 season.

The negotiations hit a snag when defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth signed a seven-year free-agent deal with the Washington Redskins that included $41 million in guarantees and could be worth as much as $100 million. When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed linebacker James Harrison to a deal worth $51.1 million that included $20 million in guarantees, it also clouded Ware's negotiations.

"Harrison texted me right before he signed," Ware said. "He (will be 31) years old and at the top part of his career right now. That was great that he signed. I'm almost six years younger than he is. I have longer longevity."

It's just a matter of the two sides figuring where Ware fits in between those two well-paid extremes.

"I feel like (this deal) is somewhere in between," Ware said. "It's not $51 (million) and it's not $100 (million). Maybe it's $94 (million)."

That last sentence he said with a bright smile and laugh. He's joking. But he's not.

Since leading the NFL in sacks last season with 20, he has become a wanted man. In a league where player-marketability deals aren't easy to come by, he is on his third such agreement. And he was a finalist for the coveted cover spot on the "Madden NFL 2010" video game. That, however, went to Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

"Usually the top guy gets on the cover of Madden," Ware said. "It's a big deal to be a candidate and nominee for that."

As much as Ware has already accomplished personally in his career — All Pro teams, Pro Bowls, sack leaders, etc. — he is eager for his team to have the same type of success. But he's not one of these types who have the Cowboys in the Super Bowl simply because they're the Dallas Cowboys.

"Every year people think we're the Super Bowl team. We haven't won a Super Bowl or playoff game yet," Ware said. "At the end of the day you can put a team on a high pedestal but you have to earn that. I feel like we haven't earned that. We have the guys to get there, but we have to get there before people start putting us up there."