So, remember all those people who laughed at San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman for having the gall to negotiate his contract without the assistance of a licensed agent?
Yeah, Sherman remembers them too and is having fun, via Twitter, looking back at some of those critics.
That's because Sherman has now earned millions in bonuses from the contract he — with some help from his wife — negotiated himself. The cornerback earned a $1 million bonus after being named to his fifth career Pro Bowl last month, and first with the 49ers. On Friday, he made another $2 million by being named to this season's All-Pro team.
By being named to the AP's All-Pro second team, 49ers CB Richard Sherman has earned a $2M incentive.
Again, he remains one of the most productive and impactful defenders in the league.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 3, 2020
That's on top of the $1 million bonus earned via a playing-time incentive. Sherman didn't hit his 90-percent playing-time incentive this season but came close enough that the 49ers were willing to award the cornerback.
Oh, and his 2020 salary from the 49ers is fully guaranteed thanks to that aforementioned Pro Bowl selection (being named an All-Pro would have done it, too).
Sherman is reaping the benefits of his decision to act as his own agent in 2018, and he doesn't even have to share any of his hard-earned money with an agent.
Sherman took time on Friday to reflect on some of his initial critics, who felt the decision for the veteran cornerback to work alone in the negotiations would come back to bite him, and it was pretty entertaining.
Fans please find me all those "He negotiates a bad deal" receipts.... I wanna see something
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Remember this? Pockets looking right. https://t.co/B7nwsQjGwq
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Hahahaha https://t.co/hfB4jHi6Lx
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Been a hell of a ride so far. I'm enjoying it https://t.co/QHpyawMnAC
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Yea appreciate this brilliant take. https://t.co/LU3sP0jT38
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Maybe it's a tale of players knowing their abilities and believing in themselves. More players have incentives that can't be achieved and are negotiated by agents but hey let's not talk about that https://t.co/Jet2cJoQyC
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Hahahaha that's almost exactly what happened https://t.co/4BRKhzZ8et
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Hahahahaha made a few more https://t.co/m4o9HuHPZj
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
Hahahahahahaha https://t.co/FaRxGIURMQ
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
No agent fees for me. Get to keep the money that I earned. Fellas these agents negotiate incentives into deals all the time. You do all the work achieving them and they see the benefit. 🤷🏾♂️
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 3, 2020
"I felt like I made the right decision, and I knew what I was doing when I did it," Sherman told reporters on Friday. "That's why it was frustrating to hear all the nonsense, but when you have people saying stuff like that, you've got to wait for the long play. You've got to wait for the long play, and I keep all the receipts. I keep it in my back pocket because I know I'm going to be alright in the end.
"I'm a very hard one to defeat, in that regard, but it's all about confidence. It's all about having confidence in yourself, and understanding what your capabilities are, and having honest conversations with yourself with who you are and what you think you're capable of."