Richard Sherman seems like the type to be motivated by slights, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he was “vengeful” in his decision to join his former team’s division rivals.
The cornerback signed a three-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday to stay in the NFC West after being released by the Seattle Seahawks.
And the 29-year-old told The MMQB that the opportunity to play the Seahawks, who he spent the first seven years of his career with, twice a season played a role in his move to the Bay Area.
“Vengeful,” Sherman said. “I love the fan base to death, and I loved playing there. It was such a great opportunity. I helped the organisation get to a great place and stay there. But now it’s like I abandoned them. People are out there burning my jersey. Come on. I’m not the one who let me go. They let me go. I didn’t abandon anybody.”
During his time with the Seahawks, Sherman was arguably the best cornerback in the league and a significant part of the ‘Legion of Boom’ defence.
But faced with the decision to pay Sherman, who is recovering from an Achilles rupture, $11 million for the coming season, Seattle chose to move on.
Sherman also told The MMQB what he was thinking in negotiating his own incentive-laden contract with the 49ers, without the use of an agent.
“I don’t think any agent in the business could have done a better job of negotiating this contract,” Sherman said. “As long as I’m content with what I’m making, nothing else matters to me.
“Once I make a Pro Bowl, $8 million the next year is guaranteed for me. It gives me the ability to control my destiny. The 49ers have skin in the game. I have skin in the game. In my former contract, no matter what I did this year, nothing would be guaranteed to me next year. I couldn’t feel secure in my contract. Now, if I play the way I know I’m capable of playing, I know I’m going to get paid.”
The outspoken Sherman, who has an undergraduate degree from Stanford, has proven to be an intelligent guy.
Whether or not he ends up hitting his incentives, Sherman is putting his faith in himself.
