Richard Sherman is a lot of things. For starters, Sherman is a top-end cornerback for a San Francisco 49ers team that will be looking to claim their first Super Bowl victory since 1995. Sherman himself earned a Super Bowl ring in 2014 as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He’s also one of the smarter athletes in the world, and the Stanford Graduate’s intellect has never been brought in to question.
To top it all off, Sherman is also an agent, well, sort of. He’s his own agent. At least he was when negotiating and signing his contract with the Niners back in 2018.
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Examining Sherman’s Contract & Self-Agenting Skills
While Sherman’s contract of $39 million for three years seems like a solid get for a then nearly 30-year old cornerback on the surface, his contract negotiation did not come without its fair share of haters.
Peep what former NFL player Joe Thomas had to say about Sherman’s deal via Twitter.
A quick Twitter search on Sherman’s contract will find numerous takes similar to Thomas’. The biggest gripe many have with Sherman’s deal is the fact that a large bulk of the contract was incentive-based, something you don’t normally see with a proven, top-notch commodity such as Sherman. Yet, you must remember, Sherman was coming off of Achilles surgery, was 29-years of age, and perceived by many to be losing a step.
Sherman bet on himself, and in return, he earned a $3 million bonus for making the Pro Bowl, as well as being named a second-team All-Pro. He has a chance to win yet another Super Bowl, and the 49ers got a legitimate CB1. It seems like everyone won, something that Sherman recently pointed out.
@ZackMooreNFL And I made 13. Both sides happy. But I see you didn’t mention any contracts you negotiated
Sherman Set to Hit the Open Market After Next Season
Sherman’s deal is set to expire following the 2020 NFL season, and as is evident by the tweet shown above, he’s not only outplayed his current deal, he’s outplayed the majority of the highest-paid defensive backs in football. In fact, according to PFF, no cornerback in the league was better than Sherman in 2019.
However, Sherman may once again find it hard to acquire the type of money his talent deserves due to the simple fact that he will be 33-years of age by the time he would take the field on his next contract. Yet, if we learned anything, it’s that you shouldn’t doubt Richard Sherman.
Sherman’s Take on Being His Own Agent
Sherman took to the Players Tribune back in 2018 to breakdown his viewpoint on why his deal was, in fact, a good one. Along with his reasoning for acting as his own agent.
I wanted to be represented by somebody who was going to look out for my best interest and nothing else. So I thought, Who better than me?
But I wasn’t just going to fly by the seat of my pants. I downloaded past contracts from the NFLPA database and, with the union’s help, spent a lot of time studying the language and structure and nuances within contracts…
Under my previous contract with Seattle, I had no guaranteed money for 2018. In my new deal with the 49ers, I get a guaranteed $3 million signing bonus right off the bat and another $2 million if I pass a physical before November 11 … $5 million for just signing the contract and passing a physical is a big win for me. …
So on top of my signing bonus and my $2 million base salary for 2018, we put incentives in the contract that will pay me more depending on how much I play — on both a per-game basis and a percentage of defensive snaps — as well whether or not I make the Pro Bowl or the All-Pro team. All in all, including my signing bonus, I could earn as much as $13 million for 2018.
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Richard Sherman Contract: 49ers CB is Here to See the Extinction of Agents