Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks selected Sherman in the fifth round (154th overall) of the 2011 NFL draft. He was the 25th cornerback drafted in 2011. While watching the draft with his family at home, Sherman was "livid" about players he perceived as inferior getting drafted before him.
On July 22, 2011, the Seahawks signed Sherman to a four-year, $2.22 million contract that included a signing bonus of $182,424. Throughout training camp, he competed to be a starting cornerback against Walter Thurmond, Kelly Jennings, Byron Maxwell, Brandon Browner, and Kennard Cox. Head coach Pete Carroll named Sherman the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Marcus Trufant, Brandon Browner, and Walter Thurmond.
Sherman made his professional regular season debut in the season-opening 33–17 loss at the San Francisco 49ers. Three weeks later, Sherman made his first career solo tackle during a 13-yard punt return by wide receiver Eric Weems as the Seahawks narrowly lost 30–28 to the Atlanta Falcons. On October 30, 2011, Sherman earned his first career start after Marcus Trufant and Walter Thurmond were both placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. He finished the 34–12 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals with five combined tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and made his first career interception. Sherman made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Andy Dalton, that was originally intended for wide receiver A. J. Green, in the third quarter. In Week 12, Sherman collected a season-high seven combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Rex Grossman during a 23–17 loss to the Washington Redskins. On January 1, 2012, Sherman recorded a season-high six solo tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in the 23–20 loss at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17. Sherman intercepted a pass by Cardinals' quarterback John Skelton, that was initially intended for wide receiver Andre Roberts and returned it for a 33-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
Sherman finished his rookie year with 55 combined tackles (47 solo), 14 pass deflections, four interceptions, and a forced fumble in 16 games and 10 starts. Sherman was selected to the 2011 PFW All-Rookie Team and led all rookies with 17 pass deflections and four interceptions. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 85.2, which ranked 16th among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2011.
Sherman entered training camp slated as the starting cornerback, but saw minor competition from Marcus Trufant. Head coach Pete Carroll named Sherman and Brandon Browner the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season.
Sherman started in the season opener at the Arizona Cardinals and made four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by John Skelton in their 20–16 loss. On October 14, 2012, Sherman made three solo tackles, three pass deflections, and an interception during a 24–23 win against the New England Patriots. After the game, Sherman taunted quarterback Tom Brady and posted a photo of himself yelling at Brady with "U mad bro?" superimposed on it on his Twitter account. He later removed the post. Prior to Week 8 against Detroit, Sherman nicknamed himself Optimus Prime, an action intended to send out the message that he would shut down Detroit's wide receiver, Calvin Johnson, known by his nickname Megatron. He collected a season-high eight combined tackles and held Calvin Johnson to three catches for 46-yards as the Seahawks lost 28–24 at the Detroit Lions.
On November 11, 2012, Sherman recorded three combined tackles, three pass deflections, an interception, and made his first career sack during a 28–7 victory over the New York Jets. Sherman sacked quarterback Mark Sanchez and forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Jason Jones in the fourth quarter. Sherman earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Jets. Two weeks later, it was reported that Sherman and teammate Brandon Browner were both facing four-game suspensions after they were accused of taking Adderall which violated the league's policy against performance-enhancing substances. On December 9, 2012, Sherman recorded two combined tackles, deflected three passes, recovered a fumble, made two interceptions, and returned an interception for his first NFL touchdown during the Seahawks' 58–0 victory against the Arizona Cardinals. Sherman intercepted a pass by quarterback John Skelton, that was originally intended for wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and returned it for a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter. In Week 16, Sherman made five combined tackles, a season-high four pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by quarterback Colin Kaepernick during a 42–13 victory against the San Francisco 49ers. During the second quarter, Sherman recovered a blocked field goal and returned it for a 90-yard touchdown after teammate Red Bryant blocked a 21-yard field goal attempt by 49ers' kicker David Akers. On December 27, 2012, it was announced that Sherman won his appeal of a four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Sherman had intentions to sue the league if the suspension was upheld. He started all 16 games and made 64 combined tackles (53 solo), a career-high 24 pass deflections, eight interceptions, a touchdown, and a sack. He received an overall grade of 94.3 from Pro Football Focus in 2012. Sherman earned First Team All-Pro honors.
The Seattle Seahawks finished second in the NFC West with an 11–5 record and earned a playoff berth. On January 6, 2013, Sherman started in his first career playoff game as the Seahawks defeated the Washington Redskins 24–14 in the NFC Wild Card Round. The following week, he made three pass deflections as the Seahawks were eliminated from the playoffs following a 30–28 loss at the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Round.
Sherman and Brandon Browner returned as the starting dgside safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. In Week 2, Sherman earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his game against San Francisco. In Week 4, Sherman made four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and returned an interception for a touchdown as the Seahawks' defeated the Houston Texans 23–20 in a comeback victory. Sherman intercepted a pass by quarterback Matt Schaub, that was intended for tight end Owen Daniels, and returned it for a 58-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter despite losing his shoe to tie the game 20–20 which sent it into overtime. He earned NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. In Week 15, he made two combined tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by quarterback Eli Manning in a 23–0 win at the New York Giants. He earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his game against the Giants. The following week, he recorded a season-high eight combined tackles, deflected two passes, and intercepted two passes by quarterback Carson Palmer during a 17–10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16. On December 27, 2013, it was announced that Sherman was voted to the 2014 Pro Bowl, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career. He finished the season with 48 combined tackles (38 solo), 16 pass deflections, eight interceptions, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts. He was voted to the Associated Press NFL All-Pro First Team for the second consecutive season. Sherman received an overall grade of 87.8 from Pro Football Focus in 2013.
The Legion of Boom allowed the fewest passing yards in the league and the Seahawks had the top ranked defense in 2013. The Seahawks finished atop the NFC West with a 13–3 record and earned a first round bye. The Seahawks reached the NFC Championship after defeating the New Orleans Saints 23–15 in the NFC Divisional Round. On January 19, 2014, Sherman made two combined tackles and a pass deflection as the Seahawks defeated the San Francisco 49ers 23–17 in the NFC Championship Game. He played a crucial role by deflecting a pass by quarterback Colin Kaepernick that was intended for Michael Crabtree, which was caught by teammate Malcolm Smith to seal the Seahawks' victory.
The play was later dubbed "the Immaculate Deflection" (as an homage to the Immaculate Reception), and would later be voted by Seahawks fans to be the most significant play in franchise history. After the play, Sherman ran over to Crabtree and offered a handshake with Crabtree responding by shoving Sherman in his facemask. Sherman proceeded to make a choke sign towards Kaepernick and was immediately penalized by the officials for unsportsmanlike conduct. The NFL went on to fine Sherman $7,875 for his taunting directed towards Kaepernick.
"Well, I'm the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you gon' get! Don't you ever talk about me! Don't you open your mouth about the best, or y'know I'm gonna shut it for you real quick! L.O.B.!"
Sherman's rant was the subject of scrutiny by fans and the media, some of whom deemed him a "thug". He later blamed Crabtree's shove for fueling his post-game rant, though Sherman also said that he regretted his attack and was dismayed by the negative response from the public. In response to the word "thug" being widely used to criticize Sherman following the incident, he said, "The reason it bothers me is because it seems like it's an accepted way of calling somebody the N-word now."
On February 2, 2014, Sherman started in Super Bowl XLVIII, recording three combined tackles and a pass deflection. He left the game with a high ankle sprain and spent majority of the fourth quarter on the sidelines with a walking boot and crutches in Seattle’s dominant 43–8 victory over Denver Broncos, the league's best offense. Sherman held wide receiver Eric Decker to one reception on five targets for a total of six-yards during the game.
On May 7, 2014, the Seahawks signed Sherman to a four-year, $56 million contract extension with $40 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $11 million. The agreement made him the highest paid cornerback in league history. On June 6, Sherman was announced as the cover athlete for Madden 15.
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn retained Sherman as the Seahawks' No. 1 starting cornerback alongside Byron Maxwell. In Week 6, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 30–23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On November 27, 2014, Sherman made two solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by Colin Kaepernick during the Seahawks' 19–3 win at San Francisco during the Thanksgiving Day game. His performance earned him the NFC Defensive Player of Week award. Sherman started all 16 games in 2014 and made 57 combined tackles (45 solo), eight passes defensed, and four interceptions. Pro Football Focus gave Sherman an overall grade of 89.9 in 2014. He was named to the Pro Bowl and earned First Team All-Pro honors.
The Seahawks finished atop the NFC West with a 12–4 record and earned the #1-seed in the NFC. On January 10, 2015, Sherman recorded three combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted Cam Newton during the Seahawks' 31–17 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Divisional Round. The following week, Sherman made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted Aaron Rodgers during a 28–22 comeback overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. On February 1, 2015, Sherman started in Super Bowl XLIX and made three combined tackles as the Seahawks lost 28–24 to the New England Patriots. The following day, it was announced that Sherman would need Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left elbow. Following the conclusion of the NFL season, the Pro Football Writers Association selected Sherman to win the PFWA Good Guy Award for his willingness to work with and provide insightful information to the media. He was the second consecutive Seahawk to win the award, as quarterback Russell Wilson was the previous recipient. Sherman was awarded NFC Defensive Player of the Year honors by the Kansas City Committee. He was ranked 11th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.
New defensive coordinator Kris Richard retained Sherman as the No. 1 starting cornerback on the depth chart in 2015, along with Cary Williams. Sherman was voted to the 2016 Pro Bowl, marking his third consecutive selection. He started all 16 games in 2015 and recorded 50 combined tackles (33 solo), 14 pass deflections, and two interceptions. Pro Football Focus gave Sherman an overall grade of 86.7 in 2015. The Seattle Seahawks finished second in the NFC West with a 10–6 record and earned a Wild Card berth. They reached the NFC Divisional Round before losing 31–24 at the Carolina Panthers. He was ranked 20th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.
Head coach Pete Carroll named Sherman and Jeremy Lane the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season.
On October 2, 2016, Sherman recorded five combined tackles, deflected two passes, and intercepted two passes by Jets' quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick during a 27–17 victory at the New York Jets. In Week 8, Sherman collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 25–20 loss at the New Orleans Saints.
On December 20, 2016, Sherman was voted to the 2017 Pro Bowl. He started all 16 games in 2016 and made 58 combined tackles (38 solo), 13 pass deflections, and four interceptions. Sherman was also ranked 21st by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017. Pro Football Focus gave Sherman an overall grade of 84.6, which ranked 13th among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2016.
After the season, it was revealed that Sherman was battling a sprained MCL in his right knee, an injury that hampered him during the second half of the year. The Seahawks were suspected to have failed to disclose this injury, which prompted the NFL to investigate. If the injury was not disclosed in time, the Seahawks could have faced a heavy fine as well as a forfeiting a second-round pick in the 2017 Draft. Ultimately, the Seahawks were not penalized.
Sherman and Jeremy Lane returned as the starting cornerbacks for the Seahawks in 2017.
Sherman was bothered in 2017 by his Achilles, which he initially injured in Week 5 during a 16–10 win against the Los Angeles Rams. In the following weeks, he tried to avoid making any severe cuts. On October 29, 2017, Sherman made four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by quarterback Deshaun Watson during a 41–38 victory against the Houston Texans. During Week 10 in a 22–16 win at the Arizona Cardinals, he left the game in the third quarter after rupturing his Achilles, and was ruled out for the season. It would be his final game as a Seahawk, as he was released the following offseason. He finished the season with 35 combined tackles (25 solo), seven pass deflections, and two interceptions in ten games and ten starts. His injury ended his streak of 106 consecutive game appearances and 100 consecutive starts. Sherman received an overall grade of 82.7 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 33rd among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2017. Despite only playing nine games, he was ranked 64th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
On March 7, 2018, it was reported that Sherman did not expect to return to the Seahawks for the 2018 season, and that he had spent the previous day telling his teammates goodbye. Sherman was officially released on March 9, 2018.
