Cornerback Richard Sherman is the subject of "NFL Life," with part one of the series looking at his departure from the Seattle Seahawks and signing with the San Francisco 49ers. Sherman shares his perspective on leaving the team with which he spent his first seven NFL seasons and joining its once bitter division rival — a rivalry which was renewed as soon as he put pen to paper.
"(Seahawks head coach) Pete (Carroll) was disappointed," Sherman said. "I don't think he wanted it to go down the way it did go down but I don't think he had much say so or choice in the matter. It was kind of a sad conversation, but it wasn't the end. He tried to give me a little rub at the end like he always does."
Carroll told Sherman: "Oh, we're going to come after you."
Sherman responded: "Please do. I made a lot of money with people showing me they care."
Sherman shared what drew him to San Francisco despite other teams like the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders expressing interest.
"As soon as [my release] made national news, I got a call from Kyle (Shanahan) first," Sherman said. "They'd like me to come down to San Fran, meet with them. The last five or six games of the season, they were playing like a top 10 defense. The quarterback play was outstanding down the stretch. These guys believed that they can win.
Obviously, I was coming off of injury, so they'd like to do their due diligence. We sat there for four or five hours, talking ball, talking life. Kyle, he's only 38, 39, so the age difference isn't that far apart.
"So the next day, I had to go do MRIs, the whole medical. We got done with that. At the end of the day, their offer was fair, and I appreciated that."
Sherman also shared the reasoning behind representing himself during his first venture into free agency, his recovery from an Achilles injury, and more.
You can watch the first part of "NFL Life: Richard Sherman" below.