Chicago Bears: 5 Reasons to be all in on Richard Sherman
By Ryan Heckman
5. Financial Ability
The Bears have been busy over the course of the offseason clearing cap space by cutting several veterans. At the moment, Chicago looks as though they will have roughly $80 million to work with in free agency. With the cap going up, they could have upwards of $90 depending on other moves they may make before then.
Sherman is about to enter the last year of a four-year, $56 million contract with Seattle. Sherman’s cap number this year is just a shade over $13 million. With the Seahawks having guaranteed him a little over $2 million, that’s where you’d see a savings of $11 million.
With the cap set at $177.2M, I project the #Bears to have $77.5M in cap space (when Glennon is cut next Wednesday). In very good shape with around $15M more in flexibility.
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) March 5, 2018
Coming off a deal that paid him an average of $14 million per year, I would bet that Sherman would be seeking a similar deal. Considering Kyle Fuller‘s transition tag will pay him nearly $13 million for 2018, the bar would be set above that number, realistically.
Pace has failed in the past to spend big money on big names. But, one thing we know this year is that Pace now has the reigns. From the moment he became the general manager of the Bears, everyone knew that Ted Phillips was behind the majority of Pace’s moves — it just wasn’t broadcasted to the public.
This year, Pace has called the shots. He was given the ability to move on from John Fox and Dowell Loggains, hiring his ideal candidates in place. If Pace truly has the freedom he deserves, he should have no reservations about paying Sherman top-tier money.