Seahawks superstar Richard Sherman is following in Peyton Manning's footsteps ... by opening his very own fast food joint -- a Wingstop -- in Seattle ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The All-Pro CB was inspired to open the biz after one of his former teammates, Sidney Rice, had a lot of success -- aka made a lot of money -- owning several of the wing joints.

A rep for Wingstop tells us Sherman grew up a fan of their delicious chicken wings ... so partnering up was a no-brainer.

Sherman's a newbie to the restaurant biz ... so we're told he's been spending a lot of time making sure things at his first spot run smoothly. However, word is he's scoping out other locales in the hopes of opening more wing franchises.