An unusual pairing is going at it through the media and it's all based on one specific viewpoint considering “self-representation.”
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio came out with a column suggesting San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman made a mistake in representing himself via free agency. Sherman fought back at his introductory presser in the Bay Area, via PFT.
“The thing I’m most frustrated about is all the people that were so high on bashing this deal refuse to bash the agents that do awful deals every year,” Sherman told reporters at his introductory press conference. “There are agents out there that are doing $3 million fully guaranteed deals that look like $50 million deals. When the guy gets cut after two weeks or after a year, and the guy only makes $5 million of a $50 million contract, nobody sits there and bashes the agent. You don’t hear Florio writing any articles about it. The kid from Philly, Bradham or something, took one year, $6 million deal but to everybody else is a $40 million deal. There’s nobody to bash it, because nobody’s even paying attention to most of these agents and their deals. So I think this was just one of those things where the agents feel uncomfortable with a player taking the initiative to do his own deal. Obviously it puts a fire under them. It makes them more accountable for their actions, because more players will do this.”
On Thursday afternoon, Florio explained his initial stance, suggesting that his words are meant to not only help the agent, but further the players' overall situation and money-making ability.
“Sherman apparently assumes, as do many, that I’ve criticized his skills as a negotiator because I’m trying to help the agents. And he’s right. I am trying to help the agents. I’m trying to help the agents because I’m trying to help the players.
“The player-agent relationship isn’t a win-lose proposition. A good agent can get more money for a player than a player can get for himself. So every player should have a good agent who can and will do just that.”
Florio explains in further detail why agents should always be involved. He even goes as far as to point an example out in Sherman's new contract and claim that owners would have a field day should agents actually become irrelevant.
Sherman, 29, recently signed a three-year, $39.15 million deal with San Francisco after spending seven spectacular seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. Among his accolades with the Seahawks is one Vince Lombardi Trophy, four Pro Bowls and an incredible three straight First Team All-Pro nods.
Extra incentives per deal or not, head coach Kyle Shanahan could care less. He has himself a walking Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback on the roster.
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