Richard Sherman has dominated headlines over the past few days, and just yesterday, the former Seahawks star cut short what might have been a lengthy free agency tour by signing a three-year pact with the 49ers. 
Earlier today, we learned that the Patriots did not reach out to Sherman before he agreed to sign with San Francisco, though New England was a team that Sherman indicated he would be interested in joining. The Lions were the only team other than the 49ers that Sherman had scheduled a visit with, and per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Detroit’s interest in the Stanford product was significant.
Citing a league source, Florio says the Lions were “strongly motivated” to pursue Sherman, and some believe that Sherman should have at least visited the Motor City if for no other reason than to leverage the 49ers into a better contract (as Florio pointed out in a separate piece, Sherman’s self-negotiated contract with the 49ers does not look especially player-friendly).
However, the 49ers may have told Sherman that if he left San Francisco without signing, then they would have pulled their offer entirely. As such, it seems that Sherman elected to take a sure thing rather than risk losing a contract that, in theory, could pay him $13MM per year. Of course, his joining the 49ers also includes the opportunity to torment his old team two times a year, and Florio suggests that could have played a role in his decision.
Florio also opines that Sherman could have landed a better deal by waiting until teams that hope to secure a starting-caliber cornerback in free agency failed to do so, or until after the draft had concluded, and that perhaps a one-year “prove it” contract might have been a better option. In any event, Florio believes the speed with which events unfolded suggests that Sherman did not do as well for himself as he could have.
Of course, it’s easy to second-guess a contract that a player negotiates without an agent, and only time will tell if Sherman acted too hastily. The Lions, meanwhile, will have to look elsewhere to upgrade their CB corps.
I think it’s kind of ridiculous to say he could’ve done better. Yea maybe he could’ve but he did pretty damn good for coming off a injury and he got a 5 million dollar signing bonus!
There are other reasons to think that Sherman liked the 9ers. Aside from facing Seattle twice a year, the move from Seattle to SF will be easier on him and his family than moving across the country. Since neither the 49ers or the Lions are contenders, some of these other considerations may have come into play.
Plus, there’s the Stanford connection with Lynch and coaching familiarity with the 49ers new DC.
He’s also from the West Coast, so I’m pretty sure that played into his decision.