2022 Speaker

A three-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Pro Bowl selection, Darren Woodson is often recognized as one of the greatest players to wear a Dallas Cowboys uniform. A native of Phoenix, Woodson played football at Maryvale High School as a running back and linebacker. He attended Arizona State University as a converted linebacker for the Sun Devils and earned his Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies. In the 1992 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected Woodson in the second round (37th overall). Throughout his 12 seasons (1992-2004) with the Cowboys, he earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s hardest hitters and most ferocious safeties.

Ring of Honor

“Woodson retired in 2004 as the Cowboys’ All-Time Leading Tackler with 1,350 career stops and registering career totals of 11 sacks and 23 interceptions. Throughout his NFL career, his dependability, athleticism and aggressiveness helped lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl Championships (Super Bowl XXVII, XXVIII and XXX) – securing him an elite position in the club’s history. 2015 Woodson was inducted into the prestigious Cowboys “Ring of Honor.” He was also named to the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (2009) and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2017).

Life after football

Upon retiring from the NFL, Woodson joined ESPN as an NFL analyst in 2005. He appeared on “NFL Live” and “SportsCenter” and also participated on the network’s coverage of the Super Bowl, NFL Draft and NFL training camp specials. After 14 years with the network and commuting weekly to Bristol, Connecticut, Woodson announced his retirement in 2019.
Transitioning from the NFL to a post-playing career is not easy for most athletes —but Woodson has found consistent success. In 2017, Woodson joined ESRP Advisory Dallas, LLC, “esrp”, and bridged his storied football career and entrepreneurial spirit with commercial real estate.

Community Outreach

Located at the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters – The Star, esrp is a tenant and buyer-focused commercial real estate company assisting clients in over 40 countries. As a Partner at esrp, he is directly involved with the firm’s overall vision, growth, and strategy. Woodson focuses on locating, developing, and defining business relationships across a variety of industries and markets. He brings his innate leadership skills and passion for creating winning strategies to meet clients’ real estate needs, while delivering a high level of service. Clients include NTT DATA, Argo Data, ExamSoft and MTX Group.  Beyond his remarkable talents and dedicated leadership, Woodson has made significant contributions to his community and is actively involved with organizations like C5 Youth Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, My Possibilities, Interfaith Housing Coalition, Children’s Cancer Fund of Dallas, Happy Hill Farm Academy, Send a Kid to Camp, Salvation Army, Athletes in Action, DART Safety Team, and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.
Darren is married to Tiffany and has four beautiful children.