The San Francisco 49ers don't hand out bad contracts. Richard Sherman's three-year, $39 million deal with the team is no different. He will only approach that number if he reaches several incentives within the shrewdly negotiated contract.
Sherman bets on himself after suffering an Achilles injury in November and being waived by the rival Seattle Seahawks on Friday. If he does return to form and meet the incentives, such as playing in 90 percent of the defensive snaps and making the Pro Bowl and being named an All-Pro in each of the next three seasons, then for the 49ers, Sherman will be worth every penny.
It was the incentives in the deal that made the 49ers stand out as a destination for Sherman. Peter King of The MMQB offered a detailed breakdown of how the weekend's negotiations between the free agent cornerback and the 49ers went down.
Late in the negotiation process, in which Sherman represented himself, an agreement on most of the incentives had been reached. Sherman decided to reach out to the three other NFL teams that had shown the most interest in him to see if they would be able to match the incentives.
"Seattle, interestingly enough, wanted the first right of refusal on any offer, and so Sherman called Seahawks GM John Schneider," writes King. "Sherman said Schneider told him, 'Incentives [are] a little rich for me.' Sherman called Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie, who said he wasn't going to have the cap money to compete for him. And Sherman called Detroit coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn; incentive package too rich for Detroit's blood."
The incentives might not be there at a later date if Sherman were to leave the 49ers facilities without agreeing to a deal. So it was the incentives, and the opportunity to face his former team twice a year, that got the deal done.
As King points out, if Sherman plays 90 percent of the defensive snaps for San Francisco in 2018 and makes the Pro Bowl, he will earn the same $11 million he was scheduled to make with the Seahawks this year.
"I don't think any agent in the business could have done a better job of negotiating this contract," Sherman told King on Sunday night. "As long as I'm content with what I'm making, nothing else matters to me."
General manager John Lynch understood that the 49ers had one more thing other teams could not offer.
"The ability to play Seattle twice a year," Lynch said.
"I love the fan base to death, and I loved playing there," Sherman said according to King. "It was such a great opportunity. I helped the organization get to a great place and stay there. But now it's like I abandoned them. People are out there burning my jersey. Come on. I'm not the one who let me go. They let me go. I didn't abandon anybody."