Richard Sherman made the unusual decision to negotiate his own contract without an agent when he was coming off a torn Achilles in 2018, but it has worked out for him thus far. We were given another reminder of that when he received an All-Pro nod on Friday.
The contract Sherman negotiated with the San Francisco 49ers two years ago was loaded with incentives, which many thought was a bad idea. However, those incentives have made Sherman even richer. He got a $1 million bonus when he was named a Pro Bowler last week, and he will receive another $2 million for being named to the AP All-Pro second team. He also earned an additional $1 million for his snap rate in the regular season.
With his All-Pro selection Richard Sherman has now earned $4M of incentives in 2019 ($1M for the Pro Bowl, $1M for 90% snaps, & $2M for the All-Pro team). He raked in nearly $13M in 2019. https://t.co/S5TyMzpdm4
— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 3, 2020
After making the All-Pro team, Sherman took to Twitter to beat his chest a bit.
No agent fees for me. Get to keep the money that I earned. Fellas these agents negotiate incentives into deals all the time. You do all the work achieving them and they see the benefit.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Saved the Law school money and the agent fees. Guess those nuances can be figured without it https://t.co/LvCtUfzvIg
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
He asked his followers to send him tweets sent by people in the past questioning his decision so that he could take a victory lap and boast in front of the critics.
Believe in yourself! Never listen to critics who have never accomplished anything outside of criticizing those who have the courage to chase greatness! To risk failure! They are cowards and cowards should never deter you from your goals!
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
https://t.co/fOBLhvAnIP pic.twitter.com/NwMC3JbMJQ
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 4, 2020
Sherman’s decision could have backfired, but he deserves credit for taking a risk that most players wouldn’t have. He has been very defensive over the choice he made, and some players would not have the knowledge needed to represent themselves in negotiations with teams. While it isn’t a recommended approach for many people, Sherman ended up making the right choice.
