There were plenty of questions surrounding Richard Sherman after he tore his Achilles last year, and the star cornerback has answered many of them by turning in a quality season with the San Francisco 49ers. Some would say it has been yet another Pro Bowl-caliber season for Sherman, but he was left off the roster on Tuesday.
And that is going to cost him a lot of money.
Sherman signed a three-year contract with the Niners last offseason that is loaded with incentives. Many of them have to do with the Pro Bowl. Tom Pelissero highlighted some of them when Sherman first signed the deal back in March.
Richard Sherman with the most costly Pro Bowl snub in history pic.twitter.com/L0P8ShUnAa
— Sam HawkBadger (@hwkbgr) December 19, 2018
Some of those bonuses and guarantees aren’t as straightforward as they sound. Pelissero’s colleague, Mike Garafolo, later broke down Sherman’s contract in more detail. Basically, Sherman would have made a $1 million bonus this year if he made the Pro Bowl, plus his base salary for 2019 would have risen from $7 million to $8 million. However, that salary is still only guaranteed for injury and would not become fully guaranteed until April 1, 2019, so the 49ers could still cut Sherman prior to that date without having to pay him.
No matter how you break it down, we’re talking about a substantial amount of money. Sherman did not record an interception this season and his numbers don’t look all that impressive, but Pro Football Focus says opposing quarterbacks have thrown his way just 38 times all season. That is tied for the fewest in the NFL.
Sherman earned a huge bonus almost instantly when he began practicing in San Francisco, but unfortunately the same will not be true for his Pro Bowl incentive.
