After a 10 weeks competition, NFL star Hines Ward and his partner Kym Johnson came out as the champions of 'Dancing with the Stars' season 12 on Tuesday, May 24 . They've been handed the Mirror Ball trophy.

The Steelers WR and Atlanta native has been the show's odds-on favorite since about halfway through its season, entering the finale as the overwhelming favorite. The odds narrowed heading into Tuesday, but Ward's chances of winning seemed to go through the roof when he was brought out to perform the final dance on Tuesday night's show, with Terrible Towels swirling ickily throughout. Judges called him the show's MVP and praised his poise in reacting to Johnson's injury.

Ecstatic by the win, the 35-year-old NFL star told the reporters after the show that he plans special tribute for his professional dancing partner Kym Johnson.

"I'm doing a tribute to Kym every time I score a touchdown. You will see a Dancing with the Stars routine somewhere in the end zone," gushed the wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He added that his teammates won't make a joke out of it, reasoning "Now that I brought back this trophy, they can't say anything."

Hines also admitted that going to the finale, he didn't assume he had the title in the bag. On the reason why, he noted that runner-up Kirstie Alley is also popular. "I looked over and I saw Kirstie," he recalled. "I thought, oh jeez, everybody loves Kirstie. I didn't know how I would match up with Kirstie!"

Speaking of his competitions, he said that both Kirstie and Chelsea Kane (aka Chelsea Staub) are "all deserving of this mirror ball." Still, he added, "But I'm not going to apologize for winning. It's grueling. I disrespected this show when I first came on by saying, 'I can do that.' It's a lot of hard work."

During the after-show chat, Hines also told reporters where he will put the mirror ball trophy. "It's going right next to my MVP trophy," the football player who was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL spilled.