Markquese Bell’s path to the NFL was anything but easy. After going undrafted out of HBCU, he admitted he didn’t truly love football until he watched his brothers play the game.
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Growing up in a small New Jersey town, he had little interest in football or sports—until he saw his cousin and brother play the game. This motivated him to look for opportunities to play ball and made him come to Florida A&M. When he arrived on the A&M campus, he felt a sense of belonging.
“I grew up in Bridgeton, New Jersey, a small town. Got into football because my cousin played and my brother played. I never really wasn’t into sports until I started seeing them doing it.”
When Bell returned to A&M, he reflected on how his journey to an HBCU began during a conversation with his former coach. Bell shared that it all started when his friends approached the coach, advocating for their friend who wanted to play football and encouraging him to consider Florida.
After watching Bell’s film, the coach reached out to spark his interest in joining an HBCU program. The connection clicked, and when Bell visited the campus, he immediately knew this was where he wanted to play football.
Despite going undrafted, he’s now playing for one of the biggest sports franchises in the world.
Markquese Bell’s salary at Dallas
Coming from Florid A&M, an HBCU, Bell went undrafted in the 2022 NFL draft but was later signed an undrafted rookie by the Cowboys. He did enough during that off-season to make the 53-man roster, signing a three-year $2,575,000 contract with the franchise.
This deal includes a $15,000 signing bonus, $215,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $858,333. He is now in the final year of his contract but there is a good chance he will get an extension after impressing in his 2nd year in Dallas. Bell played all 17 games and started 12 of them. He made 94 total tackles, defended four passes, and had 2 Forced Fumbles.
His efforts got him the recognition he deserved as the NFL honored him by naming him, the 2024 NFL HBCU Spotlight Player of the Year just a day before Super Bowl 58. Bell expressed gratitude for receiving this honor.
“I am humbly grateful for this honor and acknowledgment to be selected for the NFL HBCU Spotlight Player of the Year for the 2023 season. To have it magnified and polarized at the Super Bowl is monumental. It’s humbling to be mentioned in the same sentence as Russell Wilson and Prime Time Deion Sanders who have stood on this platform.”
Markquese Bell, of the Dallas Cowboys, will be honored as the HBCU Player of the Year at the 25th Anniversary Super Bowl Soulful Celebration! #HBCUPlayerOfTheYear #MarkqueseBell #DallasCowboys #Superbowlsoulful #justbelieve pic.twitter.com/tLrKFceahl
— Super Bowl Soulful Celebration (@SuperBowlSoul) January 29, 2024
His third season hasn’t been going well because of the return of Demarvion Overshown, starting only five games. Now, he will spend a considerable time on the sidelines due to injury.
He went down during the game against the Texans and was declared questionable to return. But it seems he will miss more than just this game as his injury looked severe and he possibly has a broken arm to contend with.
