Richard Sherman isn’t satisfied with the relatively small check he received for playing in the 2017 Pro Bowl in Orlando this past Sunday.
As a member of the losing team, Sherman and the other players on the NFC All-Star squad received $30,000 each. The winning players on the AFC side earned $61,000 for their efforts.
While most of us average folks would salivate at the opportunity to earn that kind of dough for one afternoon, it’s a paltry sum compared to the money most of the players are making each week playing in the NFL. With that in mind, Sherman believes the NFL needs to up the stakes for this exhibition game.
“Pay a guy what he makes per game. That would help a lot,” Sherman told ESPN. “If you pay a guy what he makes per game, he would probably play like it’s a game. A lot of these guys make a nice, decent chunk of change. That’s why a lot of guys don’t play. If you told them they’re making a game check, I guarantee you not many guys [would be] passing up Pro Bowls.”
It’s a salient point, but it’s one that will surely fall on deaf ears. The players on the winning side are already earning more than the losing team’s players in the Super Bowl, so unless the NFLPA somehow sneaks an upgrade in pay into its next deal with the NFL, the compensation to play in the Pro Bowl isn’t likely to increase by much, if at all.
That said, if the league does want all of its star players who were voted into the Pro Bowl to attend, one easy way to ensure it happens is to give them a big, green reason to do it.