49ers' Richard Sherman Says He Turned Down Lions Contract Due to Team Culture

If Richard Sherman had a different type of personality, there's a chance he could have signed a deal with the Detroit Lions as a free agent in 2018.

Speaking to The Athletic's Dave Lombardi, Sherman said he turned down an offer from the Lions—that had more guaranteed money than what he ultimately received from the San Francisco 49ers—because of their culture under head coach Matt Patricia: 

"The way you run their scheme, your culture. You want to do it the Patriots' way and that's really not the way I do football.

"I have fun. I like music at practice. I like to hang out and be relaxed in meetings. I don't like the stressful environment in football. [The Lions] condition every day after practice. My body isn't built to run all day and night. I'll be prepared, but I don't have to be run into the ground."

Sherman added that during a dinner meeting with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, he offered a "culture and the way he did things was very similar to how we did things in Seattle and what I was accustomed to."

"Hey, I can get this $20 million guaranteed and be in Detroit and lose football games," he said. "Or I can go to a place where I'm very comfortable with the scheme, coach and culture and I'm very comfortable with the things they do and I really believe we can win."

Sherman said Detroit's offer included $10 million guaranteed in each of the first two seasons. He was still rehabbing a torn Achilles suffered in Week 10 of the 2017 season while playing for the Seattle Seahawks. 

When the Seahawks were making roster cuts in an attempt to create cap space, Sherman was released on March 9, 2018, after seven seasons with the team. The next day he agreed to a three-year deal with the 49ers worth up to $39 million and a $5 million signing bonus. 

The 31-year-old reached a number of contract incentives in 2019, including making the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team, to earn an extra $5 million on top of his $7 million base salary and increase his 2020 base salary to $8 million. 

Sherman also has an opportunity to win his second career Super Bowl title on Sunday when the 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.