Richard Sherman's newest MMQB article. MUST READ!!

[monkey]

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/02/07/richard-sherman-super-bowl-48/
Quite probably his best yet, (though they've all been good).

[Zorn76]

ty for the link, monkey.

I'm always curious to read what's in between the lines. And what I see here is Sherman emphasizing, as much as anything else, that football is a business. We all know it, but I think some players are more aware of it than others, and I believe Sherman to be one of those.

In that spirit, I'm very curious to see if Seattle can come to a longterm deal with RS. I could see him out pricing himself, to be honest, to a point where the contract would come at a prohibitive cost. I appreciate his talent and production as much as the next guy, but am skeptical about giving him a deal that could hamstring the team moving forward. He's a shutdown corner, yes. But if he leaves and the money/cap space is instead spent on several other players that make us better as a whole, then I wouldn't lament his departure as much.

The words, "It's a business", can sometimes mean a player going to the "highest bidder." I'm glad we won a Super Bowl now, because I think we'll end up seeing several of our guys taking the money elsewhere, and it wouldn't shock me in the least if Sherman falls into that camp.

[Vegaseahawk]

Great article.

[monkey]

Somehow I doubt he leaves. The fact is, he's embraced the whole LOB and the 12 man mystique, maybe more than anyone. He plays off the legends and mythology that is being created around the LOB. He's a salesman, one who understands well the value of staying in, and monopolizing a niche market, which is what Seattle is.
He could go elsewhere, to a fan base who won't embrace him the same way, to work with players he doesn't feel the same way about, and who certainly do't feel the same way about him (some of them likely hate his guts). He could go somewhere and try to recreate the special thing he has here with the LOB, but what would that look like?
It would look cheesy, and he knows it.

No, I expect that even if he has to take a little bit less in his contract, which he knows he will MORE than make up in advertising contracts, especially local ones (he freakin OWNS Seattle now! He can get virtually any contract he wants in Seattle) but nationally as well, he'll write that off as the price of doing business HIS way.
He's smart enough to know that, he might be able to get a bigger contract signing elsewhere, (and no doubt his agent will try to talk him into that, since he gets a cut), but he'll NEVER have the unique opportunity that he has here in Seattle anywhere else.
He doesn't own the rights to LOB, but as long as he STAYS, he is the FACE of the LOB, or at least the voice of the LOB, a backfield that will likely go down in history as BY FAR the greatest secondary ever assembled, and one that has a legitimate chance to rewrite the history books, as well as help win more Lombardi's.
How much do you think that is worth? Even just monetarily, it's worth FAR, FAR, FAR more than what he could earn in a contract somewhere else, and he knows it. Add in the value to him in terms of pride from accomplishment, (and make no mistake, he may be a salesman by nature, but at his very core, he IS a competitor driven to succeed not for wealth, but for the sake of being BETTER), and in my opinion, there's very little chance he leaves.

I see the LOB staying together, Kam is already under contract, but Richard and Earl, I definitely see them both staying, even if they do have to take a little less on the actual contract (again knowing they will MORE than make up for that with endorsements) just because no amount of money in the world can replace the opportunity they have to quite literally become the GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
They go somewhere else, and individually they may have success, but it's unlikely they have success to the same degree they have staying here working together, because of the way they work together...and they know it!
If it's true, as they as frequently claim, that they really want to be the best of all time, then they stay, because together, here, they can become just that.

[Vegaseahawk]

Monkey-
Great post.
The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts.

[Zorn76]

I'd love for RS to stay. Who wouldn't.

I'm just not sold on his allegiance to the team as much as others, in terms of him being a likely candidate to take less and give a hometown discount for the sake of cap health.

Mind you, this is my hunch, certainly not what I'm rooting for. I like the guy. At the end of the day, he enjoys the show that goes along with being a public figure and a pro bowl corner. Nothing wrong with that. He's also a very hard worker, and puts a lot of time into his CB craft. That goes without saying, really.

Ultimately, though, money talks. How much more he could get elsewhere will nearly determine everything, IMO. As long as the Seahawks are in the neighborhood, he'll likely stay. We'll also get an idea what our FO really thinks about him come contract time. If the offer is noticeably less than what was anticipated, especially in Sherman's camp, than there may be more than just cap space that's at work here.

Team loyalty is a great virtue, but even that has to be put in writing:)

[Eaglehawk]

JS and PC are not fools. No way RS leaves.
They will offer him a market place salary. Jesus even Flynn got 10 million for ONE SEASON.
So, while its possible RS may jump ship, I doubt it.
Comcast commercial I was mad too. haha.
RS is a fixture of this team. RS is here for a while.

[Eaglehawk]

Somehow I doubt he leaves. The fact is, he's embraced the whole LOB and the 12 man mystique, maybe more than anyone. He plays off the legends and mythology that is being created around the LOB. He's a salesman, one who understands well the value of staying in, and monopolizing a niche market, which is what Seattle is.
He could go elsewhere, to a fan base who won't embrace him the same way, to work with players he doesn't feel the same way about, and who certainly do't feel the same way about him (some of them likely hate his guts). He could go somewhere and try to recreate the special thing he has here with the LOB, but what would that look like?
It would look cheesy, and he knows it.

No, I expect that even if he has to take a little bit less in his contract, which he knows he will MORE than make up in advertising contracts, especially local ones (he freakin OWNS Seattle now! He can get virtually any contract he wants in Seattle) but nationally as well, he'll write that off as the price of doing business HIS way.
He's smart enough to know that, he might be able to get a bigger contract signing elsewhere, (and no doubt his agent will try to talk him into that, since he gets a cut), but he'll NEVER have the unique opportunity that he has here in Seattle anywhere else.
He doesn't own the rights to LOB, but as long as he STAYS, he is the FACE of the LOB, or at least the voice of the LOB, a backfield that will likely go down in history as BY FAR the greatest secondary ever assembled, and one that has a legitimate chance to rewrite the history books, as well as help win more Lombardi's.
How much do you think that is worth? Even just monetarily, it's worth FAR, FAR, FAR more than what he could earn in a contract somewhere else, and he knows it. Add in the value to him in terms of pride from accomplishment, (and make no mistake, he may be a salesman by nature, but at his very core, he IS a competitor driven to succeed not for wealth, but for the sake of being BETTER), and in my opinion, there's very little chance he leaves.

I see the LOB staying together, Kam is already under contract, but Richard and Earl, I definitely see them both staying, even if they do have to take a little less on the actual contract (again knowing they will MORE than make up for that with endorsements) just because no amount of money in the world can replace the opportunity they have to quite literally become the GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
They go somewhere else, and individually they may have success, but it's unlikely they have success to the same degree they have staying here working together, because of the way they work together...and they know it!
If it's true, as they as frequently claim, that they really want to be the best of all time, then they stay, because together, here, they can become just that.

Thanks for the post Monkey. I am with you. I don't see him leaving. Just don't see it happening. A beautiful article.

[Oly]

Great post, monkey. I tend to agree, but just to play devil's advocate...

...it depends on how much the FO budgets for the defensive backfield. They clearly see Earl as more important--and I agree, because without his range and smarts, the entire defensive scheme has to change--and that might mean that they just can't justify paying the money to keep the game's best FS and CB in a backfield with Kam, who might be the best SS in the game for what he's asked to do.

So, if the FO can't budget for Sherman's worth, the question is how much of a discount will he take if he figures he can make more non-contract money in Seattle than elsewhere. That will shrink the gap between the Hawks' offer and another offer, for sure, but will it be enough?

Finally, for all that you've said about Sherm's identity being tied into the LOB, he is CLEARLY driven by a desire for respect. If the Hawks offer is substantially lower, I could see him bolting because of this respect issue even if the money from non-contract sources evens it out.

I'm not sure, and I certainly don't disagree with your points, I'm just throwing out another perspective.

[monkey]

Great post, monkey. I tend to agree, but just to play devil's advocate...

...it depends on how much the FO budgets for the defensive backfield. They clearly see Earl as more important--and I agree, because without his range and smarts, the entire defensive scheme has to change--and that might mean that they just can't justify paying the money to keep the game's best FS and CB in a backfield with Kam, who might be the best SS in the game for what he's asked to do.

So, if the FO can't budget for Sherman's worth, the question is how much of a discount will he take if he figures he can make more non-contract money in Seattle than elsewhere. That will shrink the gap between the Hawks' offer and another offer, for sure, but will it be enough?

Finally, for all that you've said about Sherm's identity being tied into the LOB, he is CLEARLY driven by a desire for respect. If the Hawks offer is substantially lower, I could see him bolting because of this respect issue even if the money from non-contract sources evens it out.

I'm not sure, and I certainly don't disagree with your points, I'm just throwing out another perspective.

Good post.
I worry about each of those things you mentioned, especially since teams do try not to over-allocate resources towards any one position group. Doing that is generally harmful to the rest of the team.
I worry about the respect thing as well, so again, you raise excellent points.
I just think that in the end, he will do what is best for him long term, and I honestly believe that he knows that is to stay here where he can sell himself to a market who will buy what he's selling.
Could he do the same thing elsewhere? To a lesser degree maybe, but he wouldn't have the LOB name to use, and he wouldn't have the teammates around him to help make him look so good.

He has a chance, a REAL chance to be a part of the greatest secondary to ever play in the NFL. In fact, I would argue that it already is, we just need to see the production over a period of time before everyone will agree with that. A 4-5 year run of these guys together, and there would be no doubt from anyone. That has to be worth something, even just in terms of monetary value it has to be worth quite a bit, to sell yourselves as the best of all time.