The full details of the Richard Sherman contract are in, courtesy of two sources who have viewed the three-year deal Sherman signed with the 49ers on Saturday night.
The deal is worth a maximum of $39.15 million, though Sherman's full guarantee on the deal is only $3 million in the form of a signing bonus. Sherman, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, will have to be healthy and productive to earn the rest of the contract. The contract also provides the 49ers opportunities to get out of the deal after each of the first two seasons, despite guarantee triggers based on Pro Bowl selections.
Here's a breakdown of the deal on a year-by-year basis:
2018
Signing bonus: $3 million
Roster bonus (payable at the start of training camp if Sherman passes a physical): $2 million
Base salary: $2 million
Per-game 46-man roster bonuses (must be active on game day): $2 million total ($125,000 per game)
Workout bonus: $50,000
Playtime incentive (90 percent of the team's defensive snaps): $1 million
Pro Bowl incentive: $1 million
First or second team All-Pro: $2 million
2019
Base salary: $7 million (escalates to $8 million if he makes the Pro Bowl in 2018)
Per-game 46-man roster bonuses: $2 million total (de-escalates to $1 million total if he makes the
Pro Bowl in 2018)
Workout bonus: $50,000
Playtime incentive (90 percent): $1 million
Pro Bowl incentive: $1 million
First or second team All-Pro: $2 million
2020
Workout bonus: $50,000
Playing time incentive (90 percent): $1 million (voids if he makes the Pro Bowl in both 2018 and 2019)
Pro Bowl incentive: $1 million
First or second team All-Pro: $2 million
A few notes:
» The reason for the escalators and de-escalators in the base salaries and roster bonuses is they're a reward for making the Pro Bowl. They get moved to the base salary, so Sherman then wouldn't have to be active on game days to earn the portion of the salary.
» NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Saturday night Sherman has $16 million in guarantees in 2018 and 2019 that trigger if he makes the Pro Bowl. That's true, though there are a few conditions.
Firstly, only Sherman's 2019 base salary ($8 million) becomes guaranteed if he makes the Pro Bowl this coming season. (There will be no guarantees in 2020 yet.) The guarantee is for injury only and doesn't kick in until the third day of the league year. It doesn't become fully guaranteed until April 1, 2019. In other words, no matter what Sherman does this season, the Niners can cut him without owing him anything before the start of the next league year.
» The guarantees work the same way in 2020. Sherman will get $8 million guaranteed for injury only on the third day of the 2020 league year if he makes the Pro Bowl in 2019. That money becomes fully guaranteed on April 1, 2020.
» Why April 1 for the full guarantee trigger? That's a date the Niners have used in contracts because that's the start of their fiscal year.
» The Seahawks would've paid Sherman $11 million this season if they hadn't released him. He has a chance to eclipse that number this season but it will require hitting all of his playtime, Pro Bowl and All-Pro incentives. Sherman was named first-team All-Pro from 2012-14 and second team in 2015. He has not made the team the past two seasons.
