Former NFL star Richard Sherman granted deferred prosecution in DUI case

A King County, Wash. judge granted former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman deferred prosecution in his DUI casewhich stems from a February 2024 arrest. The county’s prosecuting attorney’s office told ESPN that Sherman’s DUI charge will be suspended in exchange for his agreement to fulfill court requirements.

Deferred prosecution in Washington requires defendants to state that their actions were the result of a substance use disorder or mental health issue. They must also complete two years of treatment. Once those terms are fulfilled, charges are dropped. Defendants still face five years of probation, however, and deferred prosecution counts as a prior offense in any future DUI cases.

State police arrested Sherman in 2024 for his second alleged instance of DUI in just over two years. An officer reported that Sherman’s car was “bouncing back and forth within the lane it was traveling in.” The former Seattle Seahawks star refused a Breathalyzer test but agreed to other voluntary tests and showed signs of impairment.

Blood test results showed Sherman had a blood-alcohol level of approximately 0.11 on the night of his arrest, measuring above the legal limit of 0.08. Authorities took the sample about two hours after his arrest around 2 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2024.

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Sherman faced five misdemeanor charges in King County in 2021 for a separate incident. He took a plea deal to reduce the charges and pleaded guilty to first-degree negligent driving, second-degree criminal trespass and speeding in a construction zone. Sherman was ordered in March 2022 to pay $2,500 plus court fees and was assigned to two years of monitored supervision.

Sherman is a Seahawks legend who earned four of his five career Pro Bowl nods with the franchise. He played an integral role in the team’s Super Bowl XLVIII victory as a member of the “Legion of Boom” defense. The former fifth-round pick out of Stanford closed his career with stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and earned an All-Pro selection in 2019 with the former.