WHY I DON’T LIKE DESHAUN WATSON’S DEAL
On the Friday after the deal was made, I wrote an impassioned column criticizing the Browns for the deal. A day later, I still don’t like it for several reasons:
1. The Browns just made Deshawn Watson the highest paid player in the NFL in terms of money guaranteed. Guaranteed money is all that matters. Watson’s new five-year, $230 million deal is fully guaranteed.
2. Not only is this the richest guaranteed deal, no one else comes close. The next highest is Aaron Rodgers of the Packers with $150 million guaranteed.
3. The Browns gave all that money to a player who missed last season due to legal trouble. And to a player who is still facing civil lawsuits from 22 women. And a player who is likely to be suspended for some games in 2022.
4. Even Watson’s camp is waiting for a suspension. That’s why his contract starts with an immediate $45 million signing bonus. His salary for 2022 is $1 million. Why do it? If he is suspended, it will be only because of the $1 million salary. According to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, that’s about $57,000 a game.
5. I wonder how the NFL feels about this obvious move to sidestep the pain of a possible disqualification. The league cannot be happy. The Browns and Watson are now waiting to see what comes next from the NFL.
6. Watson’s annual salary is $46 million. That’s $1 million more than the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes’ average salary of $45 million. Then comes Josh Allen of the Bills and Dak Prescott of the Cowboys for $40 million. Rogers is in first place with $50 million.
7. On September 5, 2020, Watson signed a four-year, $156 million extension with Houston that included a no-trade clause. He had three years left on that contract, along with a no-trade clause. Watson’s agent convinced the Browns to break off this deal.
8. Watson’s agent should be the agent of the year for this. At these meetings, Watson had to explain his side of the accusations against him. Of course, that was part of it. But it seemed mostly about Cleveland, Carolina, Atlanta, and New Orleans selling themselves to Watson—asking what it would take him to waive the no-trade clause. It was a massive contract renegotiation.
9. Some fans have asked how this is different from the Browns signing Kareem Hunt. I was against it at the time. But from a business standpoint, it was easy. Hunt was released. He had no leverage. He signed a cheap contract with a few dollars guaranteed. Even its $13 million two-year extension contains clauses about conduct, etc.
10. The Browns also had to trade three first-round picks to Houston. The last time the team traded three first-round players for a player was in 1989, when Minnesota did so to take Hershel Walker out of Dallas. Worked well for Dallas, but not for Minnesota. To be fair, six picks were sold to Dallas, along with several other players, more than the Browns gave to Houston.
11. The Browns will have no first round picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024. First round picks are valuable because they give the team the opportunity to select possible starting/even future Pro Bowl players on rookie contracts with a favorable salary cap.
12. The first year (2022) of Watson’s contract is only $10 million in the salary cap. After that, he will gobble up a place in the cap. This is not baseball (no cap) or NBA (soft cap). You have to manage your NFL salary cap or run into trouble building a roster. Rookie contracts help, which is why the combination of huge dollars for Watson and losing early rounds is hard to handle.
13. The deal will have painful public relations consequences. It’s one of the biggest/most expensive trades in NFL history and also comes with a lot of moral questions and issues – at least in my opinion.
Deshawn Watson was not indicted by a grand jury last week, but he still faces civil lawsuits alleging sexual harassment. AP
CONTRADICTORY VOICE
Here is a letter from Rudy Wachtler:
“All of you writers are doing your best to throw a wet blanket over this deal. How many of them enjoyed the Super Bowl halftime show, loved the Kobe Bryant movie, danced to Michael Jackson, watched 70,000 with tears in their eyes at Pittsburgh’s tender farewell to Ben Roethlisberger? How about Robert Kraft?
“Do you prefer another decade of football hopelessness trying to compete with these guys: Mahomes, Herbert, Allen, Barrow, Jackson and Wilson? How do we get into the playoffs, let alone fight for the Super Bowl?
“Now we have five or 10 years of competitive football in Cleveland. Let’s not whine about it. The world is not a perfect place. It’s full of bad guys that we have to live with. All these guys are paid mercenaries anyway; basically from somewhere else. Are we rooting for them? Maybe we’re rooting for billionaire owners? No, we’re rooting for the Cleveland football game.”
Now teammates, but not for long. AP
WHY THE BROWNS DID IT
I checked with some NFL sources about why the Browns made the move and found out the following:
1. They are tired of losing. They are tired of not having QB. And they got fed up with Baker Mayfield in the end, although they never say it. A rare QB at Watson’s age and ability becomes available.
2. Watson was not charged with any crime after the grand jury hearing. The Browns investigated civil allegations. They have a “comfort level” with those willing to add Watson to the team as he handles civil charges. They talked to people in Clemson and Houston, including women, about Watson. They’ve been checking it out for a long time.
3. Prior to the indictment, Watson had a brilliant record at Clemson and during his first four years in Houston. He was known as a strong leader, a public figure, a good representative of his various teams.
4. The Browns believe that leadership and other positive qualities will take over, and Watson learned from this situation. They know he could be sidelined for part of 2022. They view this deal as a long-term commitment. They will endure the current consequences because they believe that things will get better.
5. Watson enters his best years at the age of 26. In 2017, he suffered a knee injury to the anterior cruciate ligament but has been healthy ever since. During his career, he completed 67.8% of passes. This is the best number in NFL history for a player with at least 1,500 passes. They consider him a five QB.
6. Watson made 104 TD passes compared to 36 interceptions. The Browns haven’t had a quarterback like him since Bernie Kosar in the late 1980s. He joins a team built to win with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb in the rear, new receiver Amari Cooper and a good offensive line. Defense should also be in the top 10.
7. The Browns know they weren’t his first choice, otherwise why did he turn them down in the first place? But they also know that at this point in his career, there is rarely a chance to play QB. So they were willing to give him the richest guaranteed contract in NFL history, as well as send three first-round picks to Houston.
8. Watson’s agent made it clear that his client wanted a new contract or he would not waive the no-trade clause. Every team was talking about the new deal, not just the Browns.
9. Denver did a mega trade for Russell Wilson. Last year, the Rams traded two first-rounders and Jared Goff to Detroit for Matt Stafford and won the Super Bowl. It’s time to take a bold step. If you’re doing this, then it should be for the guy who plays the most important position on the field.
10. Coach Kevin Stefansky now has a mobile, smart QB that can manage his offense and other types of offenses. If Stefanski can go 11-5 and the Browns beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs with Mayfield in 2020, the ceiling should be much higher with Watson.
11. They discussed for months how to get Watson. This was their Plan A. They were determined to do it and knew the price would be high. General manager Andrew Berry established a relationship with Watson’s agents.
12. The Browns know the Watson deal will come with a pay cap and draft implications, but it’s worth the risk if the quarterback changes the franchise.
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