NFL players are going to give up some of their pay if they want to make more money in the future, according to Richard Sherman.
NBA free agents have been raking in huge salaries this offseason, a development that hasn’t gone unnoticed among North America’s other professional athletes. So, when Jalen Rose asked Sherman on the ESPY Awards red carpet Tuesday if NFL players would have to strike to get paid like basketball players, the Seattle Seahawks cornerback didn’t hesitate.
“Oh, 100 percent,” Sherman said, via ESPN.com. “If we want as the NFL, as a union, to get anything done, players have to be willing to strike. That’s the thing that guys need to 100 percent realize.
“You’re going to have to miss games, you’re going to have to lose some money if you’re willing to make the point because that’s how MLB and NBA got it done. They missed games, they struck, they flexed every bit of power they had, and it was awesome. It worked out for them.”
Before you point out that NFL players already make plenty of money, remember the NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry. The league itself brought in about $14 billion in revenue last season, and individual teams make up to hundreds of millions of dollars in profit every year. Not to mention, NFL players put their bodies through hell and wind up having much shorter careers.
But Sherman also believes NBA players have given themselves more pull by being willing to take shorter deals.
“NBA players like (Kevin Durant) and LeBron (James) are sitting there taking two-year deals like it’s nothing,” Sherman said. “They figure, ‘I’ll take a two-year deal because I’m going to wait for the salary cap to increase and get another bite at the apple.’ In our sport, they won’t do it.”
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
