The voice of the Legion of Boom is moving away from football – for now.
Richard Sherman on Tuesday told NFL Networks Steve Wyche that he is joining Amazon Prime Videos Thursday Night Football coverage this season. However, the 34-year-old veteran cornerback did not rule out a potential return to the game, delaying his retirement for the time being.
“No, no, I’m still leaving that door open for as long as I can,” Sherman told Wyche. “Of course I want to keep training and keep fit, but I have to take the opportunities when they’re there and this is a great opportunity with Amazon so I could not let it go from me.
“But I’m going to leave that door open if anyone wants to call in late December and needs help, I’d be happy to help.”
Sherman will work on Amazon Prime Video’s pregame, break and postgame shows Thursday night, joining Hall of Fame tight-end Tony Gonzalez, Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit as notable names to stand for the streamer’s first season of TNF coverage.
“I feel it’s important for players to keep pushing the game forward and educate the fans through real experience and real intellect and try to take them even deeper into the game,” Sherman said, explaining his decision to go into the show. . “I think you try to simplify it as much as possible for them, but I think the more informed and educated the fans are, the better the experience. You want to help them understand their team, understand why this touchdown happened, understand why this great race happened, understand why this interception happened and I think I can do it. “
Sherman enters the next phase of his career with something of a legacy. Sherman, a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro selection, blossomed into a shutdown cornerback just as his Seattle Seahawks rose to prominence in the first half of the last decade. The previous election in the fifth round from Stanford was an essential part of a stifling Seattle defense that helped the Seahawks play the Super Bowl in a row in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, winning the Super Bowl XLVIII in a stunning, dominant performance against the powerful Denver Broncos.
Sherman, Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and the Legion of Boom returned to the big stage a year later, but fell in a heartbreaking (and still to this day confusing) way to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in the Super Bowl XLIX. They would never reach the game’s biggest stage again, but thanks to the contributions of the aforementioned trio and many others (Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, etc.), Seattle remained a power in the NFL for the rest of the decade.
As is often the case in the NFL, Sherman’s career in Seattle came to an abrupt end after the 2017 season when he was released by the Seahawks in a cost-saving move. He was not unemployed for long and signed a three-year deal with San Francisco for $ 39 million a day after he was released by Seattle. Sherman helped lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl LIFE appearance in 2019 and played his contract out in San Francisco before joining defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers early in the 2021 season. He played five games for the Buccaneers before finishing the campaign – his 11th in the league – on injured reserve in January.
If departures in this offseason by Wilson and Wagner were not enough, Sherman’s transition to radio and television broadcasting confirms the end of a legendary era in Seattle. Sherman has not suited the Seahawks since 2017, but he was one of the franchise’s faces in its greatest moments – so much so that he even graced the cover of Madden NFL 15 – and his focal point for Amazon Prime Video brings close to the glorious time in Pacific Northwest, if not his career.
“I have something in mind,” Sherman said. “But right now I’m excited and focused on this Amazon opportunity. It’s the first time you’ll be talking the game, feeling the mood. Thursday nights have always been exciting, of course I have not always been a fan of them, I’m excited on calling from this site. “
