DeMarcus Ware is a good sport. Why else would a former NFL star wear a koala costume and sing a 1980s pop song on reality TV?

Ware, an Auburn native and Pro Football Hall of Famer, made a surprise appearance on “The Masked Singer” this week, covering “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. As it turns out, the powerhouse athlete has some pretty impressive pipes. Ware showed off his vocal skills on Wednesday’s episode with a rendition of the 1985 synth-pop hit.

On “The Masked Singer,” celebrities compete in elaborate costumes, shielding their identities until they’re eliminated or declared the season’s winner.

Ware, 41, performed on the show as Koala, wearing a furry headpiece and an outfit that evoked a swashbuckling adventurer. (Think the Three Musketeers or Puss in Boots from the “Shrek” movies.) None of the judges on “The Masked Singer” guessed his identity correctly, although they came close by naming former NFL players such as Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin and Terry Crews.

At the end of the episode, Ware was unmasked and eliminated. But he made a strong impression on the show, stumping judges Rita Ora, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg. All four applauded his performance and proclaimed Ware “a really good singer,” then gasped in surprise when he lifted off the Koala headpiece. Fans in the studio audience seemed astonished, as well.

Ware was gracious as he made an exit from the show, telling host Nick Cannon he had a great time singing in costume.

“All my life, I always wore a mask, but I sacked quarterbacks doing that,” Ware said. “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. This was one of the funnest experiences I’ve ever had.”

Ware, an outside linebacker and defensive end, spent most of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. With the Cowboys, Ware excelled at sacks and forced fumbles, and he helped the Broncos to win Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers. He retired from pro football in 2017.

Ware’s Alabama roots run deep; he attended Auburn High School, joining the football team in his junior year. Ware moved on to Troy University, where he was a standout on the Troy Trojans football team. As a senior at Troy, he was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Although Ware may have been fierce on the field, he showed his softer side during a video interview after leaving “The Masked Singer.” In the video, Ware explained that he chose a Koala costume because his young son’s favorite animal is the koala, and the boy sleeps with a koala toy.

“Dad actually got to be a koala,” Ware said. “He’s going to know that a koala sings. He’s gonna know that the koala dances. So, (I’m) saying goodbye to the big head, but I know I got little man at home and we’ve still got the koala at the house.”

This isn’t the first time Ware has appeared on reality TV, by the way. He competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2018, performing with pro partner Lindsay Arnold. Ware had a good run in the ballroom, leaving the ABC reality show tied for seventh place.

Alabama people haven’t often been featured on “The Masked Singer,” but country star Sara Evans, a former Birmingham resident, competed on Season 9 as Mustang, covering “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake. Also, some “American Idol” fans are convinced that an “Idol” winner from Alabama appeared on “Masked Singer” earlier this season, singing in a costumed duo known as The Beets. (The identities of The Beets haven’t been revealed yet.)