In a striking video posted to The Players' Tribune, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman called out the NFL for being a 'bottom line business'.
In a video posted to the Players’ Tribune on Thursday morning, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman called out the NFL for not taking care of its players, saying the league is a “bottom-line business.”
Sherman didn’t stop there. “I feel like I have a voice, and I have the mindset and the courage to come out and say something about it. So, I’m gonna say it,” he wrote on the Players’ Tribune website.
First, he questioned how the league manages its player-safety concerns, recalling Panthers quarterback Cam Newton writhing on the turf after a shot to the head in Week 1.
“You see the guy on his hands and knees shaking his head after he just got a shot to the face, and they say they didn’t see any indications that he needed to come out of the game,” Sherman recalled. “If you take the reigning MVP out of the game in the last couple minutes with the game on the line, he’d be frustrated, the fans would be frustrated, but it would be in line with what you said you want to see in terms of player safety. But you didn’t, because it would affect the ratings, and it would affect the game.”
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“They’re a bottom-line business. If you can increase their bottom line, they’ll love you,” Sherman said. “If you’re not making them money, they’ll find somebody else.”
He offered a striking analogy to explain how he believes players are being objectified in today’s NFL.
“If you’re a race-car owner, you have to keep the car running at a high level if you wanna make money, if you wanna win races, if you wanna do things that make you successful. I think the same is true in football. They have to do enough to keep the players in good enough shape to go out and perform. That’s the degree they care. They’re gonna use us until our time’s up, and then they’re gonna find someone else.”
Sherman said that while it is difficult to ensure safety in such a violent sport, it’s pivotal for players to become educated so that the league “doesn’t abuse its power” — something he hopes to act upon as a member of the NFL Players Association.