NFL’s Richard Sherman acts as own agent, hopes rookies will follow him
Richard Sherman, the four-time Pro Bowler who has played for the Seattle Seahawks since he was drafted in 2011, acts as his own agent, a practice he hopes other players, especially rookies, will imitate.
“There are contract lawyers that you can pay a one-time fee to look over the contract for you,” Sherman told FOX Business. “There are also players unions that keep track of every single contact that goes through the NFL, so I can get all the information that I need, so an agent is becoming an unnecessary commodity.”
While rumors are swirling that the Seahawks are thinking about trading Sherman, who injured his Achilles tendon last season, he hasn’t heard anything yet.
“You really have to ask the general manager,” Sherman said. “We really don’t know any more than you do. I have heard nothing of the sort of being moved.”
Hiring an agent, according to Sherman, is especially unnecessary for rookies because for them there is really nothing to be negotiated.
“You just got drafted,” he said. “You can’t say I want more money.”
But he thinks the same goes for veteran players, whose resumes should speak for themselves.
“I know where I stand in comparison to other players, so what is there to really negotiate there?” he said, adding that he even understands those awkward conversations he needs to have regarding his age and his recent injury.
Sherman, 29, said a lot of rookies in particular are played for fools at the beginning of their careers by financial advisers and hedge fund managers.
“Some of these kids are led astray and are taken advantage of,” he said. “These kids don’t understand what they are talking about, so they talk over their heads and they do a thousand transactions a day and these kids don’t make a dime while they are pocketing each transaction fee.”
In 2014, Sherman became one of the highest-paid defensive players after signing a $56 million contract extension, with $40 million guaranteed, including an $11 million signing bonus with the Seahawks.
His biggest financial advice to rookies is to be informed, educate yourself and do your research.
The Stanford graduate said a lot of times players blow through their cash early without acquiring assets.
“Save, save, save,” he said.
The key for players is to try to save 30% to 40% on their salaries and find investments.
Sherman is currently an investor and spokesman for a new cryptocurrency app called Cobinhood that allows users to trade digital currencies without any fees. The defensive star is invested in Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum as well.