Richard Sherman’s dad still gets up at 3 a.m. to drive a garbage truck, even though his son, who plays for the Super Bowl-bound Seattle Seahawks makes millions and could take care of him.
In most cases, when football players sign multi-million dollar contracts (Sherman’s is worth $56 million) — the first thing they do is buy a house or car for their parents and take care of them financially. In many instances, it’s a life-long dream to re-pay all the sacrifices mom and dad have made to put them where they are.
However, this is not the case with Richard Sherman and his dad, who refuses to “be kept” by his very famous son, who is defending his team’s title as Super Bowl champions against the New England Patriots on Sunday. Kevin Sherman has not stopped working at the same job he’s had for the past two decades.
Kevin has worked as a garbage truck driver for the city of Los Angeles for 26 years, and told the Los Angeles Times he still gets up at 3:45 a.m. and works holidays to make extra money. He is only 18-months away from retirement and a pension, and takes time off sparingly, according to Sports Illustrated .
“It’s something to keep busy, and it’s easy now. If I take a day off, I don’t need to worry about where my money is coming from. I want to get that pension and the medical benefits just so it’s one more thing my son doesn’t have to worry about. I’m always going to be making money. I want to fix it so that even when I’m not working, I’m getting paid.”
Richard Sherman’s father and mother set a good example for their boys, as they both worked when he was younger, the cornerback told Farmer .
“It forced my brother and me to understand priorities and family. You’ve got to do everything in your power to make sure your family is taken care of.”
When Richard Sherman was growing up in Compton, his father’s only goal was to give him and his brother a better education than he had received. In 2010, that dream became a reality when Richard graduated from Stanford.
Kevin lost his right eye in a go-kart accident when he was only 14-years-old, but he never let that stop him and it taught his sons never to give up.
“My son is an NFL player, but I don’t want my son taking care of me the rest of my life,” Richard Sherman’s dad told NBC Los Angeles .
[Image via NFL Films]
