Richard Sherman spoke about his expectations for his next contract with the Seahawks, reports Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Sherman, who is in a position to be the highest paid cornerback in the NFL on his next deal, is coming off a Super Bowl that was largely possible due to the team friendly deals for stars such as Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Russell Wilson. He talked about the possibility of receiving that lucrative deal from the Seahawks as the league’s top cornerback.
“Whatever they feel I am due. I will take it as respect,” said Sherman. “It’s all about respect in this game and the only way people show respect is the dollars. We’ll see what happens.”
Sherman’s dominance the past two seasons has brought in a new age of defense in the NFL, as a number of teams have followed the Seahawks’ lead in looking to acquire tall and lengthy cornerbacks to combat the increased size of elite NFL receivers. The lack of such players only drives Sherman’s value even higher. If he were to hit the open market, he could challenge some of the highest guaranteed money for a cornerback ever seen in the NFL.
Despite durability concerns, Aqib Talib signed a six-year $57MM deal with the Broncos, and Darrelle Revis signed a one-year deal worth $12MM guaranteed, which is a lot of money considering this is his third team in as many years. A healthy Sherman could potentially look to surpass both those deals.