Shortly following his departure from the Seattle Seahawks, All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman made the decision to sign with the San Francisco 49ers. It was a quick negotiation process that Sherman worked out himself with the team on his three-year, $39 million deal that is laid out with incentives all through the contract.

The strong connection to the 49ers appeared to be seamless with Sherman immediately buying into the future ahead of the franchise. According to Cam Inman of the Mercury News, the 30-year-old revealed that the presence of Jimmy Garoppolo had a tremendous impact on his choice to sign with San Francisco.

“That had a huge part. The way he played down the stretch was inspiring, it was incredible,” Sherman said. “Sometimes quarterbacks can get hot and the next year fall off the face of the Earth and you do not hear from them again.

“What I saw from him was poise, I saw leadership, I saw the respect from his teammates, and I saw a command of the offense, and he’d only been there a few weeks.”

Since Garoppolo took over the reigns as the starting quarterback, he has had a huge influence on the franchise both on and off the field in his short time with the 49ers. He has quickly stepped in and embraced a leadership role while leading them to success. This saw him lead San Francisco to wins in each of his first five starts while passing for 1,542 yards, the most by a quarterback in franchise history over that span. He also became the first 49ers quarterback since 1970 to win each of his first three road starts.

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This helped him earn the five-year, $137.5 million contract that has secured his long-term future with the 49ers. His promising play has already helped the front office garner deals with key players, and that should remain the case throughout the rest of the free agency period. Garoppolo has plenty of potential to become one of the best quarterbacks in the league over the next several years, which is a highly appealing aspect that will lure in players like Sherman moving ahead.

More importantly, it looks like the 49ers have a found a budding star franchise quarterback that could quickly transform the franchise back into being a Super Bowl contender.