All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman said he’s “vengeful” after helping the Seattle Seahawks get to a “great place” and then being let go, according to Sports Illustrated Monday.
“Vengeful,” Sherman shared when asked his thoughts about being signed by the San Francisco 49ers. “I love the fan base to death, and I loved playing there.”
Richard Sherman: Joe Nicholson/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports
“It was such a great opportunity,” he added. “I helped the organization 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.”
Sherman called out those who have criticized him for representing himself in the deal that went down over the weekend.
“I spent maybe 10, 12 hours reading all these contracts and studying the contract language,” Sherman explained. “If I was going to represent myself, I was going to do the research.”
“I don’t think any agent in the business could have done a better job of negotiating this contract,” he added. “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,” he continued. “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.”
Sherman was put on the NFL waiver wire Friday by the Seahawks, allowing them to free up $11 million on the team’s salary cap.
The deal with the 49ers includes a $3 million signing bonus plus a $2 million roster bonus on the first day of camp, with a base salary of $2 million in 2018. In order to get the $39 million the contract is said to be worth, the cornerback will have his work cut out for him and have to deliver all-pro cornerback performances for the next three years.
Sherman will turn 30 on March 30 and is coming off achilles surgery.