Seahawks have made considerable progress on deal to make Richard Sherman top-paid CB in NFL. Sides hopeful it's complete by the draft…
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 22, 2014
Ultimately, deal expected to be worth north of $13M/year for Sherman and SEA. Question remains how north. They've maintained a good dialogue
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 22, 2014
Lock him up! I’m sure JS is going to make sure that its a very team friendly deal and very fair to Sherm to pay him market value as the best corner in the game. Now please get ETIII a done deal as well!
1) Pay Earl 2) Pay Sherm 3) Pay Russ 4) Move Pryor to hybrid WR/QB/Line him up next to Russ and Percy in the backfield and cause an epidemic of lost sleep for every D-Coordinator on our schedule!
$13 mil a year? Damn, Revis only got 12 on his ridiculous string of one year deals. Better hope the cap keeps growing nicely, but its totally worth it to keep the Legion together.
On paper, Revis got $16M/year. His actual pay will probably be closer to the $12M you say.
His paper number was 16 in Tampa Bay, and when he got cut (for being massively overpriced) he got 12 on a 1 year deal which is going to be a premium since he’s got nothing long term. Top of the legit long term deal market right now is what, $10 mil per?
I guess I’ m saying I see why this isn’t done if the agents were pushing to make him paid 40% more than the rest of the top end market by opening at 14. Even for Sherm that’s pretty nuts.
Love Sherm, but if we don’t continue drafting well late, this could get us in a lot of trouble. We better find replacements for Okung/Harvin/Avril/Maxwell.
Excellent news!!! I love Sherm and what he brings to this team! He also tends to get into the heads of the SF team, which makes it all the more fun! Go get your money young man – well deserved!
Gotta assume the front office has a good idea what’s going to happen with the cap over the next few year. That’s going to be a big chunk of change, especially when combined with the rest of the “big 4”
Sherm – $13mm
Wilson – $17mm
Harvin – $11mm
Earl – $10mm (guess)
That could easily be 1/3 of your total cap tied up in 4 players.
I’m assuming that our D-Line is going to get much smaller in terms of total cap spending once we lose Avril next year, especially if Mayowa steps up and the interior guys from the last draft and this upcoming draft contribute.
Sherman, Thomas, and Chancellor will be taking up over 30 million a year.
I’m so conflicted with these re-signings. I love Sherman, he’s one of the top CB’s in the league, he’s worked his ass off for (relative) peanuts the last three years, great attitude, but we’re going to have to screw someone over eventually right? Let’s say we didn’t pay Sherm, he plays out the last year of his deal then gets franchised the year after (which would probably pay less than the contract being discussed). We’ve saved roughly 13 million, which could be enough to keep some combination of Maxwell, Wright and Avril for a couple of their prime years. At the end of that year, we evaluate the market worth of a now-28 year old Sherm and go from there.
I’m not saying this should happen, and of course Sherm has earned his contract. It’s great that we’ve been rewarding our guys with good deals, but this route is hugely dependant upon continuing to own the draft and the later stages of FA. I’ve got all the faith in the World in Schneider and Pete but a couple of misses in the draft, combined with Russell’s impending monster pay-day, will leave us really thin. Oh well, the 1st world problems of a superbowl champion I suppose!
Aaaaaaaand I just looked up and realised Cysco said the same thing without all the bluster. Sorry!
Lets just say that same 13 million will pay for four linebackers, and 6 defensive linemen. I’m excluding Bennett and Avril.
Im somewhat disappointed.
I expected to hear a number closer to 12 million. I don’t think hes worth 14 mill because part of his production is boosted as a result of the scheme and position PC/JS put him in to be supremely successful. Im not saying he isn’t the best CB in the game. Im saying hes not significantly better than the next best.
Thought Sherman was smarter than that. He asks guys to come back at whatever rate the team will have them but when it comes to his payday he wants the biggest in the game at his position. Feels like an ego move.
Whatever. Sherm, while brilliant hasn’t been someone ive seen as particularly mature. But again, who is at that age?
If you are willing to go 12, you’re willing to go 14. That’s not a huge difference.
“Thought Sherman was smarter than that”
Okay… What is that supposed to mean?
“He asks guys to come back at whatever rate the team will have them but when it comes to his payday he wants the biggest in the game at his position.”
I’ve never heard anything that reflects what you just said. You are making a pretty large generalization. Let’s not forget that the agents are usually the ones doing the dirty work.
I suppose you are also one of the people “disappointed” in Golden Tate as well…
No, I was not at all disappointed in Golden Tate. Speaking of large generalizations you just made one yourself. I think Tate was smart and that our team didn’t offer him near his value.
Sherman has lead the charge in cheerleading guys to sign with the team. Saying stuff like you want to win a superbowl etc.. when he knows they take a paycut to come here. Example being Bennett. I didn’t make anything up.
Yes, I thought Sherman was smarter than to milk a team for every dollar when he acts like team and winning are so important. This whole LOB thing starts to stink.
Yes 14 is a lot more than 12. We turned down big acquisitions over the margin of 2 million dollars this offseason.
“Saying stuff like you want to win a superbowl etc.. when he knows they take a paycut to come here. Example being Bennett. I didn’t make anything up.”
He never said to Bennett he needed to take a pay cut. He absolutely wanted him to stay, but there’s nothing to suggest he’s told other guys how to handle their business; sorry not buying it. Richard is smart enough to know it’s a business and guys will do what suits their needs financially.
“We turned down big acquisitions over the margin of 2 million dollars this off season.”
We’re not talking about importing another player. We’re talking about extending one of our own is also one of the best at his position. The difference between 14 million and $12 million is not as great as having Sherman vs not having Richard Sherman.
“Yes, I thought Sherman was smarter than to milk a team for every dollar when he acts like team and winning are so important. This whole LOB thing starts to stink.”
Oh, so it’s wrong to want to get paid? I see where this is going. If every guy on this team doesn’t take a team friendly deal they are hypocrites and not team players.
Seriously dude, get real. This is a Super Bowl winning team with an EXCELLENT opportunity to win more and you’re bitching about Richard Sherman not taking pennies on the dollar? Shameful.
You sir are embarrassing yourself. Stop acting like I insulted your wife. We disagree. That’s allowed in life.
You’re right. You are allowed to have an inferiority complex.
My apologies.
And the childish dig. So predictable.
I don’t agree that this scheme ‘bloats’ his production. He’s proven just as effective in man coverage as when he plays zone. He’s proven to be every bit as effective in man coverage as zone. In fact there’s reason to believe he’d be even better in a man coverage scheme.
Actually if you check out the breakdown of his play by Fahey in presnapreads, who has done a play by play breakdown of every game of the ’12 and ’13 seasons of top corners and compares them he says much the same about Sherman.
http://presnapreads.com/2014/02/19/richard-sherman-the-numbers-the-tape-the-verdict-2014/
In case you don’t have time to read the extensive breakdown here’s a key quote:
“Sherman has a reputation for being a shutdown cornerback. In man coverage, he is a phenomenal player with all the physical talent to shut down any receiver on a given day. However, he has notable issues in zone coverage.
On a number of occasions during the 2013 season, Sherman gave up big plays in zone coverage because he was too aggressive. This approach also has helped him create turnovers and break up passes so it’s not so much that he is unintelligent in his approach but rather just too aggressive.”
I think there’s a good argument to be made here that the scheme actually detracts, rather than maximizes his level of play by allowing him the latitude of being too aggressive in coverage.
Colin, dude. Chill out. This blog is all about everyone expressing themselves. Don’t take it so personal. I, like Colin think about not just this year or next year. Do we want to win more Superbowls, yes. But paying that much for a corner when we have Earl and Russ still and Okung and Harvin on the books for over 10, makes it hard.
It won’t be a problem if we continue to draft well in the later rounds, because next year we cannot keep Harvin/Okung/Avril at what they make/want
But you can’t guarantee that they’ll keep finding special guys like Sherman in late rounds. The rest of the NFL has caught on to seattle’s game and are targeting players that we traditionally go after. And Sherman isn’t just good, he’s special.
If you trust the way PC and JS are finding their talent, we owe it to them to trust their business model. They certainly understand the cap implications better than the rest of us.
If as Cade suggests that Sherman is a great player because of scheme, why would such astute judges of talent like JS and PC be willing to sign Sherman to such a huge deal? Because they know he is special and not easily found or developed.
Hey Jeff. Nice post.
Little clarification on what I was saying. I think he is a great player in any scheme and worth 12 mill (as much as any cb in the league) but not worth 14 mill.
Its the scheme in my opinion which bloats his production to make the 14 mill seem reasonable.
Also its not about team friendly deal. My opinion (and I am allowed to have one) is that outside of our scheme he is worth merely 12 mill per year which happens to be the most of any CB in the league. My issue is that he is seeking pmt higher than I think his value justifies and is doing so while wearing the cape of being a team guy. LOB Bitches.
You need to chill man. I don’t let people talk to me in this manner in person.
“Also its not about team friendly deal.”
“while wearing the cape of being a team guy. LOB Bitches”
I still have yet to see/hear where Richard Sherman has said guys need to take pay cuts and stay. Find me this evidence where Sherman is parading around preaching about pay cuts. I won’t hold my breath.
Someone who talks to me like you do.. you, do not warrant the footwork to provide the examples. Im not making this up but frankly your not worth the effort. I really don’t appreciate your combative dialog style and it has achieved nothing except to suck me into the same communication style.
Adios.
Calm down folks. Shake hands and man up you two. We don’t bicker on here.
Amen! And Rob rarely has to step in….so football only please, no personal criticism.
I think you may have a point in saying Sherman’s cost is bloated by our scheme, but it’s still our scheme is it not? If he’s worth £14m a year (only rumours so far) in our scheme then aren’t we then simply paying his market value? It’s not like we’ll sign him and then change scheme is it.
What i’m trying to say is if you say our scheme makes him worth £14m then we couldn’t possibly be overpaying him if we offered £14m to play in the same scheme that makes him worth that amount.
I’m dizzy, wonder if that made any sense.
Slightly over-paying in one instance might not be a “huge difference”, but if it is the normal way of doing business, then it’s an enormous problem. Using your logic could very easily lead to …
it’s just a couple million more, what’s the difference?
+
it’s just 500,000 more, what’s the difference?
+
it’s just a million more, what’s the difference?
+
and on and on.
Doing that as a matter of regular policy is a good way to demolish a team.
Teams threw at Sherman less than any other QB in the league and he still led the NFL for interceptions. He is not a product of scheme. He is elite.
He is elite, but not as much so as this scheme allows him to be. He isn’t the best by as large of a margin as his stats and tape suggests.
It just seems a bit retarded to have to overpay a guy because you put him in the best position to be successful.
I guess end of day 2 mill dollars isn’t a huge amt but its the stink of this that bothers me.
If Sherman is elite (as you admit), he deserves to be paid like the best. And given his production is #1 in the NFL, I have no problem with him being paid more than the rest.
Again — I’ll make this point. Sherman had the least number of targets for a corner in the NFL last year. And he had the most interceptions. No scheme on earth can make it so an offense avoids one whole side of the field and when they dare to take a chance it gets exploited so viciously as this.
Sherman is the best corner in the league for that reason. And he’s huge in the locker room and to the community too. A new contract should be celebrated by all Seahawks fans.
Agreed. Question is what does “paid like the best” mean? Revis got 16 mil….on a deal with zip guaranteed that got him cut, where he got a 1 year flier at 12. As far as I’m aware, no CB in the league has a multiyear deal with a big sure money bonus that averages out to more than 10/year (and I could be wrong in this, I’m not up on all the deals).
If that’s the case its totally reasonable to ask why we’d pay him 40% more than the TOP of the current market – 11/l or 12 a year for 4 with a hefty portion locked down would still be the biggest deal out there, and I imagine that’s what the negotiation is about. I really doubt this FO is going to toss a couple million a year in the pot just to close the negotiations a few weeks earlier.
Why? Because it’s a hedge that with Haden and Peterson’s contract negotiations either ongoing or due to start this summer, plus with Revis coming off his deal in a year, that one of those guys is going to reset the premium price paid out for a cornerback on a long term deal, at which point Sherman’s price of wanting to be paid more than guys that aren’t as good as him just went up.
Agreed. Dude is elite. I am stoked that the Hawks even have this level of talent to warrant being paid the best. How cool is that. Plus, I think of it this way. If I was the best at my job I would want to be compensated that way.
The only thing I want to add is Earl needs to remain a Hawk too.
We don’t know what the final numbers are. That’s just a rumor. Before Bennett signed his deal the rumor was much higher than it actually was. We just don’t know.
And the real important number is the guaranteed dollars, which is more important than the average salary.
As far as the “stats and tape” suggest, you should ping Danny Kelly for that article on his QBR rating against. The dude has put up two straight years of epic cb play that is at a historically good level. And he’s in his prime.
I hear ya cade! I remember Sherman talkin about keeping the team together even if it means taking less money. happy we are resigning him, and I understand he deserves his money. but it is funny that last year and the year before he and others were all about team ! but when pay day comes its different. so your not the only one, cade, who remembers that. go hawks
Let’s see what the contract actually is before we get upset about it. For all we know Sherman may have only asked for the $13m for the first year just to dig at Revis with a “I got more money than you” sort of thing…
You have to remember that really you have to look at what is the guaranteed money, not the whole length of these deals. The hawks are locking up great players in their prime years, which is why this last year will almost certainly be Lynch’s last in seattle. Same with Sherm. You get him in his prime years and he likely goes elsewhere as he starts to fall off. Same with harvin.
And this isn’t just a good cb. He’s the best. Who makes that play against Crabtree in the NFC championship? Who sends us to the superbowl with an epic play that is up there with the immaculate reception, “the catch”, etc? No more Kelly Jennings types for me. This is a guy who is not only a great athlete, he understands routes and coverages like no other. And he has the knack for the big play at the big moment.
You pay guys like this.
And yes, he is as smart as you originally thought.
Should also be noted the cap is expected to keep rising after several ‘flat” years.
Hard to fault Sherman for wanting to set himself up for life. He doesn’t owe anybody a thing. He’s put in the work and put himself in this position. Sure, Seattle gave him the opportunity but Sherman seized it. At 26, there’s no reason to think his skills will diminish so long as he stays healthy (big IF for any NFL player). So, give him a big chunk of guaranteed cash and allow for an out for the franchise should things not unfold favorably for the team.
Having to resign your draft picks is a great problem to have.
You have to keep elite talents when you are fortunate to find them if you want to win forever. Sherman is elite now and just coming into his prime. Lock him up, enjoy the ride and build around him and ET and Kam.
Sherm is a product of physical talent, passion for the game, an incredibly high football IQ, hours in the film room, and the perfect scheme fit.
He may not be a 4.3 forty guy, but he more than makes up for it with his intelligence. The Hawks defensive scheme allows him to play to his strengths. Great coaching. However to say that scheme is the biggest factor of his success is just plain wrong. Richard Sherman knows more about his opposition than arguably any other DB in the league.
For that intelligence, that work ethic, and that incredible and consistent production, he deserves to be the highest paid corner in the NFL. Whether that’s $12 mil or $16 mil is up to PCJS. However, I think before it’s all said and done there will be somewhat of a “hometown discount.” Sherm wants to win and he knows what it will take to keep the band together.
Personally, I could live just fine off of $10 mil a year. Haha
Any news on the deal with Earl?
I couldn’t. I’d need 13 mil a year to really live right so I can’t blame Sherm for thinking the same.
And right on cue, Mike Florio posts an article basically saying the Seahawks aren’t close to deal with Sherman, just to continue his little war with Jason La Canfora. Ha
Interesting, when JS was asked about the progress yesterday on Sirius radio he said he didn’t have any comment because he doesn’t like to comment on ongoing negotiations.
But he did say that he was ‘glad’ that La Canfora thought that negotiations were going well. He added that he thought Jason is a good guy.
What that tells me is that La Canfora’s source is probably one of Sherm’s agents involved in negotiating on his behalf. Schneider’s endorsement of La Canfora also seemed to carry with it his implicit blessing that La Confora’s sources were indeed legit.
I never thought all hell will break lose here over Sherman’s payday. I think we all want him on this team and value his talent and contribution. He plays the way he does with a chip on his shoulder. The same chip that makes him who he is drives him to seek recognition as the best there is with the biggest contract to show for it.
On the other hand we all want what’s best for the team and that is the best talent without breaking the bank for it.
Everything i have heard so far about the talks is that they are progressing amicably. The numbers are not only just a supposition, they are a supposition about talks that have not matured into an agreement, hence worthless.
This FO navigated this team masterfully. The last thing we can say about them is that they spend carelessly with no regards to the future so I think we can calm down.
I’m sure a way can be found to give Sherman the financial recognition of his position as the best in his position without selling the future of this team. Everything I heard from Sherman regarding other players indicates that he fully understands the impact of responsible team management etc.
The cost per year is not the only declaration of value. It could be duration combined with a big number of guarantied income. How about an 8 year 100 million contract. does that sound like nice number ? add to it a nice 40 million guaranty and i’d say its a very nice statement by the team. Make the last 2 years 15M not guarantied. 20M signing bonus over the 8 years and its actually 11.6M for 6 years. Work it out so you can say goodbye after 5 years with 10M dead money or after 6 years with 5m and everybody is happy.
Let’s not argue here before the milk is spilled and put more fate in JS and RS then we do on a maybe could be twitter by an expert who got it wrong more then once before.
Yesterday, I was in a waiting room and saw an SI magizine with “the tip” on the cover. We all know what would have happened if Josh Wilson or Kelly Jennings was on the coverage. No super bowl, no Superbowl victory. Heck, has he not made the pick of Matt Shaub to win us that game we might not have kept homefeild advantage and who knows what would have happened? Sherman played a huge roll in Seattle’s first ever Superbowl title – so pay the dude.
It will be interesting how many years and what’s gaurunteed.
Sherman is worth whatever they pay him.
He is talented, smart, a leader, and young. He will allow you to make 7th RD WR into future corners on the other side.
To me, he also is why we have teams like San Fransisco’s number. He embodies our moxie.
You make a great point on the tip and the Houston pick-six. How many other corners in the league win games for their team like that? Not many.
Smart move by Seattle. Pay high dollars for players in their prime, not aging players on their 3rd contracts. 14m a year seems fair for a difference maker. Especially one of the smartest players I have ever seen on the defensive side of the ball.
I feel Seattle will always pay the CB position because the type of athlete they need for the scheme is hard to come by. At the same time it seems like positions, like LB, will never get big pay days.
The unexpectedly large jump in the cap has changed the dynamic. $13/mil is not excessive. Cap increaeses of $5 – 8 / mil per year are projected for the next several years. The cap consequences of Sherm, Earl and RW are not as difficult as we thought this time last year. Sign ’em and let’s go.
Admittedly this is all based on rumours but if Sherm is determined to get top end money (and I can’t fault him for that, he is the best CB in the NFL), why would the Hawks’ FO extend his contract one year earlier than they have to? If he is going to cost top whack anyway then surely it makes sense to wait and roll some cap over?
We can use the FT after that and suddenly we have Sherm for another 2 years for a fraction of the 28m cost he reportedly wants. Then we could potentially pay him his top money. This all being just “business” can work both ways. Sherm needs to be careful he doesn’t forget that extending contracts earlier than we have to usually means it’s for a discount for the FO which leads to security for the player (see Kam Chancellor).
That said I think Sherm is smart and we will see a cap friendly blockbuster sounding deal. One that strokes the player’s ego but doesn’t harm us too much.
If the contract runs into the final year there’s every chance you might have to use the franchise tag — and that’s when it gets even more expensive and you risk losing the player in 2016.
I also think it’s about rewarding the players financially who helped win this team a Super Bowl. Rolling cap is nice, but the Seahawks are cap healthy.
I see your point but (and it’s a potential but that hasn’t been confirmed either way yet) if Sherman wants top dollar and won’t accept anything less, then we might as well get a couple of years discounted and then move onto the top dollar contract. I suppose you would have to weigh up whether the initial $14m pa will increase even more or whether it would burn a bridge with the player.
My overriding thoughts are to do a deal now but not for absolutely top dollar. Security and an early pay increase should come at a cost for the player.
Honest question also as I don’t know, can you use the FT more than once on the same player?
Yeah you can use the franchise tag year after year on a player. But the financial disincentive for the team to engage in such a costly and reckless cap inflating strategy is enormous.
Bottom line is that it wrapping him on long term deal provides cap relief to the team AS WELL as security to the player. Using the FT like that also makes it almost certain that you will end up paying more on a long term deal than you would had you done so early, since increasing salary costs will only drive his price up. You’re pretty much hedging that the player will have a down year or get injured as the only way his price WON’T go up.
I don’t think waiting a year and using the FT saves as much as you might think. With Haden currently renegotiating his contract, Peterson’s contract renegotiations set to start this summer, and Revis wanting a re-up after this season the smart thing is to lock him up now so you’re not at the mercy of one of those guys breaking the bank.
You can but unlike previous years under the new CBA, you pay an obscene amount the second time. I don’t it’ll ever be used again twice under the current structure.
Under the current CBA, you can use the franchise tag a maximum of 3 times on a player. The first time is the average of the highest players at the position, the second time is 120% of that number, and the third time is the QB franchise number. For Sherman we would be looking at approximately $1.4M, $13M, $15.6M and $20M for the next 4 years under that approach.