According to a Tuesday report by CBSSports.com, the Seahawks are working to complete a long-term contract for All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman in advance of the May 8 draft. The Seahawks are reportedly prepared to make Sherman the NFL’s highest-paid corner with a deal that will surpass Darrelle Revis’s $12 million compensation for 2014. The question is by how much.
League sources told CBSSports.com that they anticipate the contract will exceed $13 million per season when finalized.
Although no deal is imminent, Sherman’s new agents, Ben Dogra and and Jimmy Sexton of CAA, have been in dialogue with the Seahawks “for quite some time.”
However, a different report later Tuesday claimed talks were not as close as LaConfora reported. Citing an anonymous source, Pro Football Talk wrote the report of progress was not accurate. A consensus hasn’t been reached on dollars or terms.
The discussions on a new contract began before the scouting combine. PFT’s source explained progress has been made but it’s “nowhere near what has been reported.”
A fifth-round draft pick in 2011, Sherman has vastly outperformed his rookie contract. He is scheduled to make $1.4 million next season after earning $555,000 last year.
Sherman is one of several priorities for the Seahawks, who are looking to secure the long-term services of S Earl Thomas, OT Russell Okung and QB Russell Wilson in the next year or so. A 2012 rookie, Wilson cannot re-negotiate until after the 2014 season under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
With a salary of $662,000, Wilson is the third-highest paid quarterback on Seattle’s roster with the club’s Monday trade for Terrelle Pryor from Oakland for a seventh-round draft choice. He will making $705,000 next season, and backup Tarvaris Jackson signed for another season at $1.2 million.
4 Comments
Crazy – what will he then make in 5 years? $20?
I say draft a few CB this year and / or trade and move on, as unpopular as this sounds.
It seems this sets up the rest of the payroll for destroying the team, as what will you pay the other deserving, talented “keepers”?
I worry the Hawks will simply be a shell of last year in 2-3 years and a mid-pack team.
They certainly won’t be as deep as they were last year but I doubt Paul Allen will let John Schneider and Pete Carroll let the team grow old as they did the last time they went to the Super Bowl. I do agree about bringing in players to push the Legion as well as the rest of the team. Matt Hasselbeck once said that’s what Ron Wolf did in Green Bay all the time.
This is a surprise. I didn’t think they’d go over 8 or 9 and that with required incentives. I tend to agree with 1coolguy. Actually I thought after the SB Sherm might be the guy that moved on – due to pride if he wasn’t making as much or more than Revis. He’s a very good corner, but he isn’t the best player on the team.
We may be closing in on “Next Man Up” time. Sherman is almost as good as he thinks he is, but you don’t break the bank on a DB. The Seahawks need to focus first on keeping Russell Wilson, then on keeping Earl Thomas (who is a lot less noisy than Rich has been and arguably as good). Okung? Great when he’s healthy, but how often does that happen?
A lot of Seattle’s defensive swagger comes from Sherman, but if $13 million isn’t close enough to good enough for him, it may be best to move him before his volatility turns toward his own team instead of opponents during his walk year. Guys who are vocal about being underpaid never help their team’s chemistry. I’d love to see him stay in Seattle, but not at the expense of the other 44 guys on the roster.