The Players' Tribune is launching a new video series featuring Richard Sherman, which will be exec produced by the Seahawks CB and sponsored by Samsung. Financial terms were not disclosed. The new series, "OUT OF CONTEXT," will feature Sherman's self-recorded, first-person video narratives using Samsung devices. Unlike last year's weekly series, "Tuesdays with Richard on Thursdays," the new series will be broadcast without the assistance of TPT writers, producers or editors. The new series will premier tomorrow and run on a weekly basis throughout the NFL season. As part of the agreement with Samsung, Sherman’s home and car have been equipped with Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 devices, which he will use to record the videos in the series. Samsung has been a TPT partner since July '16 -- this is the brand's second collaboration with TPT. Last year, the TPT series with Sherman included 18 pieces of content which generated more than 1.5 million video views, 3 million page views and 9 million social impressions. Sherman in a statement said that he wanted the next series to connect with fans in a new and inventive way (Liz Mullen, Staff Writer).
THE REAL RICHARD: AD AGE's E.J. Schultz notes the name of Sherman's new series is a "not-so-subtle dig at traditional sports publications, which Sherman says are sensationalistic to a fault." Sherman: "A lot of items in the traditional media nowadays, it's click bait. It's people that are fighting to be the first to break a story regardless of how true it is or how accurate it is or how damaging it is to someone's reputation or character." Samsung's backing gives Sherman's new series a "dedicated sponsor, and presumably, more financial stability for the site." But any time a sponsor is involved, it "raises the risk that content deemed too controversial is muted." Still, TPT President Jaymee Messler and Sherman are "adamant that Samsung will not get editorial control." Sherman: "They understand who I am and what I am about. Obviously, I am going to be filtered to some degree. Ya know, I never say anything that terrible, or cursing or anything. But in terms of my opinions and sometimes controversial nature, I don't think they are at all concerned" (ADAGE.com, 9/6).
