Kevin Ware Jr., who spent two seasons in the NFL, entered a guilty plea just days before jury selection for his trial for the murder of Ware's then-girlfriend Taylor Pomaski was scheduled to begin, multiple Houston media outlets reported on Thursday. 

The former football tight end accepted a plea deal during his court appearance on Wednesday.

Ware agreed to 30 years in prison for murder and tampering with evidence, "specifically a corpse" in Pomaski's death, according to FOX 26 Houston. The 44-year-old was accused of setting fire to Pomaski's corpse.

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The Harris County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Neal Davis III, the attorney of record for Ware, also did not immediately respond. 

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A Harris County, Texas, grand jury indicted Ware in July 2022 on murder and tampering charges. The City of Houston is the Harris County seat and its largest city.

Pomaski's last known appearance was in April 2021. She was 29 at the time and was at her home in Texas. After several months of searching, the Harris County Sheriff's Department located human remains in a ditch in December 2021. In April 2022, authorities identified the remains as Pomaski's.

Ware was arrested on two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon. The arrest happened before Pomaski disappeared. Ware was released on bond in April 2021 — Pomaski disappeared later that month. Ware's murder charges in Pomaski's death will run concurrently with his weapons and drugs charges, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Ware is expected to be formally sentenced on May 9.

Ware played for Washington in 2003 before spending the 2004 season with the San Francisco 49ers. 

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The brother of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, who made history by becoming the first American pontiff, shared his "overwhelming" reaction to the news on Thursday.

John Prevost told FOX 32 that "there are no words" to describe how proud he was of his baby brother. 

"It’s overwhelming pride, but it’s also an overwhelming responsibility, being the first American Pope from Chicago – and a relative. Frightening," Prevost said. 

Prevost said his brother’s path to pope began at a young age, having gone straight into seminary after eighth grade.

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"So, the whole high school years, college years, we didn't really know him other than the summer vacation," he said.

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Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, was a suspected frontrunner to succeed Pope Francis after his passing late last month. Prevost said he had an "inkling" his brother was in the running after hearing his description on the radio. 

"They were interviewing someone on the radio, and she said there are two likely candidates: One of the Cardinals from the Philippines, and one is a Cardinal, as a matter of fact, from the Chicago area. He was a missionary in Peru and now he’s a Cardinal in Rome," Prevost said. 

But the inkling that big things were in store for the now pope even went back decades earlier. According to Prevost, the boys' childhood neighbors predicted the younger Prevost would be the "first American pope."

"The interesting thing is way back when he was in kindergarten or first grade, there was a parent, a mom, across the street — one across the street that way and another down the street," John Prevost, told WGN on Thursday. "Both of them said he would be the first American Pope, at that age."

Prevost predicts that his brother will likely be "a second Pope Francis." 

"I think he has a strong inclination to help the poor, the disenfranchised, the people that don't have a voice because he spent so much time in Peru with the people who were impoverished," Prevost said. "So, I think she sees that need and I think he will work for that. The church has to be universal and help everyone but some people need a lot more help … I don't think he can do anything, but I think immigration is big time on his mind. He thinks the country's headed in the wrong direction there." 

Prevost said his brother will have to work hard to reunite the Catholic Church, given that "so many people have gone away" in recent years.