pay the (sher)man! WE talk slaps, shams and SALARIES WITH SEATTLE CORNER RICHARD sherman, THE NFL’S TOP bargain. by Eddie Matz
MAG: Last season you
Paycheck Double-Check MONEY ISSUE
80
ESPN The Magazine 06/24/2013
made $511,000. But according to our numbers, your play was worth $19.8 million to the Seahawks. That makes you the most underpaid player in the NFL. How’s that feel? SHERMAN: Aw, man, that’s cool, but I just need to keep playing like a beast. That’s a lot of money, though. It’d be more exciting if it was real, but the money will come. MAG: If you actually made $19.8 million, what would you spend it on? SHERMAN: I’d give a nice chunk to my high school and the city of Compton to improve the academic experience there. I keep hearing how great Tahiti is, so I’d take my mom and dad, my aunt, my cousin and my brother there. No wife yet. Waiting on my
$19.8 million deal for that. MAG: Why did you last until the fifth round of the 2011 draft? SHERMAN: Because the draft is a sham. How many guys do you see go in the first round who don’t amount to much? They did well in college, but everybody does well in college, or else you wouldn’t have the chance to go to the NFL. Playing corner in college for only a year and a half or two years had something to do with it. I should’ve gone higher. MAG: What are the odds that you report to camp on time this year? SHERMAN: One hundred percent. Under the CBA, we can’t negotiate anyway. So it’d be kind of stupid if I didn’t report. MAG: After the RedskinsSeahawks playoff game, what exactly did you say to Trent Williams that made him slap you? SHERMAN: I didn’t say anything. During the game, we had a little conversation going, but I hadn’t talked to him since like the first or second
WHAT DO A-ROD, PAUL GEORGE, THE THUNDER AND
RICHARD SHERMAN
HAVE IN COMMON? OUR SALARY SURVEY SAYS THEIR CONTRACTS JUST DON’T ADD UP.
quarter. He started going back and forth with my teammate Chris Clemons, and I said, “Go back to your huddle.” When the game ended, I went to Kedric Golston, who’d been quoted calling me a cheater, and said, “It’s all good, great game, have a great offseason.” Then Williams comes up to me and goes, “I’m gonna punch you in the face.” And he hit me. MAG: What’s your best trash-talk? SHERMAN: I like to tell people they have hands like feet when they drop an easy pass. And after a guy drops a pass, that’s the best time to put a little bug in his head. MAG: Who or what can shut you up? SHERMAN: My mom. She’ll just tell me, “Boy, you better shut your damn mouth,” and I do. If my mom was playing wide receiver, she’d be able to shut me up. MAG: You were suspended four games for violating the league’s PED policy but won your appeal on the grounds that the NFL breached protocol by using a second collection cup after the first had a leak. But the question remains: Did you take Adderall? SHERMAN: Nope. Didn’t take it at all. The question only remains for people who want the question to remain. MAG: Seattle has had five players suspended for PED violations since 2011. Do the Seahawks have a PED problem? SHERMAN: It does seem that way. It is what it is.
06/24/2013 ESPN The Magazine
81