Browns QB Deshaun Watson is now facing a new lawsuit after an alleged incident from a date in 2020. Watson was sued in Houston on Monday for sexual assault and battery as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress, per ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio. This new allegation is bad news for both Watson and the Cleveland Browns.
Watson could face further discipline from the NFL as a result of these new allegations, according to ESPN's Graziano and Jeremy Fowler. The league made it clear when they announced his 2022 suspension that it could take further action if new information came to light.
If Watson faces a suspension from the NFL, the Browns may use this as an opportunity to get out of Watson's contract once and for all.
Watson signed a five-year, $230 million fully-guaranteed contract with the Browns after they traded for him from the Texans in 2022. The fully-guaranteed nature of the contract shocked the NFL at the time and has since made it difficult for Cleveland to deal with Watson's struggles both on and off the field.
However, there may be a way out of paying Watson the rest of his guaranteed money.
How could the Browns get out of Deshaun Watson's fully-guaranteed contract?
Deshaun Watson's contract includes NFL contract default language that allows the team to void guaranteed money if a player is suspended under the personal conduct policy, per ESPN.
However, Watson's contract included an exception if the suspension was for conduct “in connection with matters disclosed to Club in writing…and such suspension results in Player's unavailability to Club solely for games during the 2022 and 2023 NFL League Years.”
That “in writing” portion refers to a side letter that is not filed with the official contract. It was apparently a private communication between Watson and the team, no doubt related to Watson's sexual misconduct cases that resulted in his previous 11-game suspension.
The language in the above exemption is crucially important. The exemption specifies the 2022 and 2023 NFL league years. We are now in the 2024 NFL league year, so this season and future years of the contract do not seem to apply to that exemption.
The NFL went on record on Tuesday and announced that “we are reviewing [the complaint against Watson] and we will look into the matter under the Personal Conduct Policy.” Therefore a suspension under the personal conduct policy is within the realm of possibility.
Nick Wright destroys Browns trade with Texans for QB Deshaun Watson
In retrospect, the Browns' trade for Deshaun Watson has been a disaster.
Analyst Nick Wright did not hold back when critiquing the 2022 trade on Tuesday.
“He's unmovable, he's uncuttable and he's unplayable,” Wright said of Watson. “I think Jameis (Winston) gives them a better option, but this is without question the worst transaction in NFL history.”
Wright speaks for many NFL analysts and fans who regard this trade as both a failure and an embarrassment for the Browns.
If the NFL issues any kind of suspension against Deshaun Watson in the coming days, keep an eye out for the Browns' response.
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