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RENTON, Wash. -- Richard Sherman finally got his moment of being a top pick. He stood on the stage with spotlights beaming directly on his bow tie. With the coach on one side and general manager on the other, Sherman held up a Seattle Seahawks jersey with his named across the back. When Sherman entered the NFL as a fifth-rounder, there was no fanfare. That all came on Wednesday as Sherman became the latest piece of the Super Bowl champions to be locked up for the long term. "I guess this is how it feels to be a first rounder," Sherman said after signing a four-year contract extension with the Seahawks that will make him one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NFL history. Much in the tenor of doing things the way he wants, Sherman unveiled the extension on his website before the team could make the announcement. The two-time, first-team All-Pro selection wrote the deal will pay him $57.4 million with $40 million guaranteed and will keep him in a Seahawks uniform through the 2018 season. The deal includes a reported $11 million signing bonus. Its a massive deal for a player who earned $375,000 in base salary as a rookie in 2011. But Sherman insisted the money will not change the approach or attitude that has made him one of the top defensive players in football and a magnet for attention. "Im still the guy scrapping for a spot. You never lose that mentality. You can take a ragged dog that has been living on the streets for 10 years and put him in a brand new house with steak and lobster every night and hes still the ragged dog that you got off the streets," Sherman said. "So Im still the ragged dog off the street. That mentality isnt something that I can change I dont think. Even I wanted to, I cant do it, Its not a switch that I have." Shermans deal wraps up a solid off-season for the Seahawks prior to the NFL draft. Seattle re-signed defensive end Michael Bennett before the start of free agency. They then reached extensions with coach Pete Carroll through 2016 and a four-year, $40 million extension with All-Pro free safety Earl Thomas. "Id like to thank Paul Allen for anteing up," Sherman said. Sherman said it was important to get the extension done before the start of the 2014 season and take any lingering doubt about his future out of the equation. He made a point of thanking nearly everyone on the Seahawks defence during his opening remarks. Sherman wanted to spend his career playing alongside Thomas and Kam Chancellor as part of a secondary that has developed into the best in the league. Sherman and Thomas will be under contract through 2018 and Chancellor is under contract through 2017. "It was headed in the right direction for several weeks," Seattle general manager John Schneider said. "I thought it was time to get it tied up and let everybody move forward." Despite the pedigree of being a fifth-round pick, the one thing Sherman has never lacked is bravado. Whether it was getting in the face of Tom Brady after a win in 2012, off-season social media arguments with other players or his comments about Michael Crabtree after the NFC championship game, Sherman has never hidden the swagger. "The thing I struggle with Richard on is his confidence level," Schneider joked. Displaying his self-confidence has made Sherman a target for criticism. It was never louder than the gap between the NFC championship and Super Bowl when Shermans shouting postgame rant on national television overshadowed the play he made to clinch the conference title against rival San Francisco. But all those moments have made Sherman known outside of football and his consecutive seasons with eight interceptions. Its why he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine and invited to the White House Correspondents dinner last weekend. "Its a great statement about a young man that demonstrated an extraordinary belief in himself and dedication to be a nerd in high school way back in his Dominguez (High School) days when he was a track star and a football player," Carroll said. "He was always in the classroom working on his stuff. He had a real vision on what he could become way back then and see it come all the way through to this day today, it is a new beginning for Richard and his career with all that goes along that makes this guy up. Hes really special." 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After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday.MINSK, Belarus -- Joel Ward knows who he is and who he isnt. "Im not going to go out there and be Ovi," he said. "I know what Im doing. Its not complex." Its not complex: Ward is just Team Canadas leading scorer through three games at the world hockey championship. With three goals hes actually tied for the tournament lead and has the same amount as Russian star and Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin. Ward doesnt have Ovechkins release or his accuracy, but the 33-year-old is no slouch, either. His 2013-14 NHL season included a career-high 24 goals, which was just the ticket to get him his first-ever international experience for Canada. Brad Pascall of Hockey Canada said assistant general manager Ron Hextall watched Ward play this past season and the group deciding on this team figured hed be a nice fit after the strong season he had. It was good for Ward to get noticed but even better for him to find some more self-appreciation of his offensive game. "Ive always believed in my abilities and never told myself I couldnt," the Toronto native said Tuesday. "My first year in Nashville I had 17 and I had some power-play time there, so I knew I could be a 20-goal scorer in the National Hockey League. It was just finding that spot and the right atmosphere and environment. This year I kind of got my spirits back up, my confidence back up to do so." Ward called it a season of "rejuvenation," crediting Capitals coach Adam Oates for changing the curve and length of his stick blade and teaching him more about how to play in front of the net. The reward was 24 goals and 25 assists, and those 49 points were third on Washington behind only Ovechkin and Swedish Olympian Nicklas Backstrom. Ward was never ever close to being considered for the star-studded Sochi team, but when he got the call to represent Canada at the world championships, he was thrilled just to have the chance. "When I first got the call, I said this was like my Olympics," he said. "First time to ever put a Canada jersey on. I grew up as a kid watching international hockey my whole life. When I got the call I was pretty excited to just be part of it. Im trying to make the most of it." So far, so good. Ward scored twice against Slovakia and then once against the Czech Republic. His three goals and four points lead Canada, which is 2-0-1 going into Thursdays game against Denmark. "Hes really come along as a player, and even in this tournament, too," Capitals and Team Canada teammate Troy Brouwer said. "Hes very opportunistic." What coach Dave Tippett likes about the six-foot-one, 221-pound right-winger is that he scores the kind of goals that are necessary in international play. "He scores hard goals --- hard goals in front of the net, good quick shots," Tippett said.dddddddddddd. "Hes a hard player. Everybody thinks this is the big ice and its all flow and away from (the net). You look where our goals are being scored right now: A lot of them are right in front of the net. Hes a player that can get in there and muck around a little bit. ... Go hard to the net and be willing to get into a battle to score. Thats what he does." Wards first goal of the tournament was a perfect tip of a point shot by Jason Garrison. His two others were sharp shots that Washington linemate Jason Chimera didnt think many goaltenders in the world could stop. But its not necessarily his shot but how he gets those opportunities that makes Ward fit for the big ice surface. Hes admittedly not the swiftest guy but takes pride in creating space and not making mistakes. "I just try to play good, two-way hockey, and if I get a chance on the offensive side, try to make plays for my linemates," Ward said. "Just keeping it simple is something key for me and try not to be no hero and be something Im not. I just want to get pucks down deep and puck possession is very key. Fortunate to get a couple good bounces and playing with some good linemates." Ward is likely to continue playing on Canadas fourth line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Sean Monahan moving forward, but he could get some better scoring chances on the power play. Even though only six of his 24 goals this past season came in that role, getting that extra ice time is why he thinks hes a better scorer than he was even two years ago when he had a 40-game drought. "You get more opportunity to play, right? So the more you play, the more opportunity you get," he said. "If you can kind of get that opportunity and capitalize a bit, then you get more positive results, obviously, and you get more ice time and you get rewarded." Being at the world championships is Wards reward for such a strong season in Washington. Its also his first trip to Europe. "Im usually just a beach guy," Ward said, smiling. "I like to sit in the sand a little bit and have a pina colada, so this is kind of a new experience, new territory for me. Thank God Im here, and Im thankful for being here and getting an opportunity to do this." Along the way, hes giving Canada the opportunity to win games and move past an opening shootout loss to France. Count at least Brouwer and Chimera among those not surprised and also pumped to see Ward playing and producing like this. "It couldnt happen to a better person," Chimera said. "Hes a great human being and everyone likes him. When he has success, the team has success, too, because the team just feeds off that kind of guy." ' ' '