The San Francisco 49ers made a splash with the signing of former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman to a three-year, $39 million contract. One of the more intriguing storylines surrounding the deal was the fact that Sherman represented himself throughout the process.
The former All-Pro caught some flak from those around the league who criticized the deal. However, according to CBS Sports’ Joel Corry reported, he was able to get some assistance from the NFLPA:
“Sherman should be extremely grateful to the NFLPA for getting the 49ers to move the deadline in his $2 million roster bonus for passing the physical from the third day of training camp … to the latter part of November.”
Sherman had torn his Achilles midway through the 2017 NFL season. As a result, he was among the notable players that Seattle had decided to part ways with this offseason.
There had been plenty of discussions regarding where Sherman would land next. Those debates were fueled by the fact that he would be negotiating the terms of his own contract. As with any player coming off a serious injury, San Francisco was sure to include some stipulations regarding guaranteed money.
His signing came with $3 million guaranteed and another $2 million on the way if he were to pass his physical in training camp at some point in late July or early August. Needless to say, this gave Sherman a small timetable to ensure that he would receive the most money possible. Fortunately, he was able to push back the deadline to late November after most of the games in the 2018 NFL season have already been played.
