Richard Sherman’s bet on himself paid off in his second season with the 49ers.
The cornerback elected to forego an agent and negotiate his own free agent contract in 2018. The result was an incentive-laden three-year deal worth a maximum of $39 million and $3 million fully guaranteed according to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo.
One of the incentives included Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. He earns $1 million for Pro Bowl nods, with an additional $1 million added to the following year’s base salary. He made neither a Pro Bowl nor an All-Pro team in 2018, but Tuesday he was named to the NFC’s 2020 Pro Bowl squad.
That means Sherman hit a $1 million bonus for the 2019 season, and his 2020 base salary jumps from $7 million to $8 million. However, because he made the NFL’s all-star exhibition, his per-game 46-man roster bonus de-escalates from a maximum of $2 million to a maximum of $1 million.
Garafolo notes that since Sherman made the 2019 Pro Bowl, his $8 million in 2020 is guaranteed for injury only on March 20, 2020 – the third day of the league year. It becomes fully guaranteed on April 1 of that year.
There were some additional escalators and de-escalators that would’ve kicked in had he made the Pro Bowl last season, but injuries and the 49ers’ 4-12 finish kept him from punching his ticket to Orlando.
Still, Sherman gets a nice boost from his 2019 performance and 2020 Pro Bowl honor. This will be his fifth Pro Bowl and his first since the 2016 season. He’s the unquestioned leader of the dramatically-improved 49ers defense. He has three interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 53 tackles – all his highest totals since that 2016 season.
In fact, Sherman is playing so well that an All-Pro nod isn’t out of the question, at which point the 31-year-old would hit the proverbial jackpot in the bet on himself with additional incentive bonuses kicking in.
The 2020 season is the final one on Sherman’s contract, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get an extension if he continues playing at the level he’s playing at in 2019.