Former NFL Player Pleads Guilty to Girlfriend’s Murder

Disgraced ex-NFL tight end Kevin Ware Jr. has pleaded guilty to the brutal 2021 murder of his girlfriend, Taylor Pomaski, just days before jury selection was set to begin in his high-profile trial.

Ware, 44, struck a plea deal in a Texas courtroom on Wednesday, May 7, admitting to charges of murder and tampering with evidence—specifically, a corpse. In exchange, he agreed to serve 30 years in prison. His formal sentencing is scheduled for Friday, May 9.

Pomaski, 29, vanished after a house party in Spring, Texas, on April 25, 2021. Her remains were discovered eight months later in a ditch in northern Harris County. Authorities confirmed the identity in April 2022, and Ware was indicted by a grand jury that July.

In a tense courtroom moment reported by the Houston Chronicle, Judge Brian Warren warned Ware the plea deal wouldn’t last forever, telling him, “I’m going to play football with you right now,” before making clear the alternative could be life behind bars. After a 20-minute consultation with his attorneys, Ware returned and accepted the offer.

Before Pomaski’s disappearance, Ware had already been in trouble with the law. Just five days prior, he was arrested for drug possession and unlawful firearm possession as a felon, and was out on bond when Pomaski vanished. He later received a 15-year concurrent sentence for those charges.

Grim details later emerged in court documents. One witness claimed Ware told her he slit Pomaski’s throat, burned her body, and even took a photo of the fire. Prosecutors said he used a knife, blunt object, and strangulation—though the exact manner of death was never fully determined by the grand jury.

Ware’s NFL career was brief. After playing at the University of Washington, he had short stints with the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers in the early 2000s, appearing in only 16 games.

Now, the former athlete faces decades behind bars for a crime that shocked even seasoned investigators.