The Cleveland Browns stunned the NFL world earlier this month when they acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans for several draft picks after one grand jury declined to indict him on sexual assault allegations and while he still faces 22 civil lawsuits over the same accusations.
Watson and the Browns then agreed to a five-year, $230 million contract. After 2022, Watson is reportedly set to make $46 million in each season through 2026.
In his recent Football Morning in America column, NFL insider Peter King wrote that Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are “not the most popular people” at the meetings. They are effectively getting the “cold shoulder,” as ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio described it.
His sources told him there is “lots of grumbling” over the Browns’ decision to trade for Watson amid serious allegations.
“[Jimmy and Dee Haslam are] not the most popular people at the league meetings on Sunday,” King wrote. “I heard lots of grumbling from those who think a) trading six picks for a player who may be found guilty of heinous offenses or b) signing Watson to the richest guaranteed contract in league history and giving him an $80-million raise ‘stinks to high heaven,’ as one team exec said. The Haslams had to know it was coming, and now that they’ve traded for and signed Watson, it’s not going away.”
Watson made his debut with the media on Friday as he denied any of the sexual assault allegations against him and said he looked forward to clearing his name “once everything is resolved.”
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“I understand the whole circumstance is very difficult, especially for the women’s side – the fans in this community. I’m not naive to that,” he said of the criticism his trade has drawn. “I know these allegations are very, very serious but like I mentioned before, I’ve never assaulted any woman. I never disrespected any woman. I was raised by a single parent mom … that’s who raised me.”
He continued: “I was raised to be genuine and respect anyone and everything around me. So I’ve always defended that and I will continue to stand on that and I just want the opportunity to be able to really show who I am in the community and be hands-on and help people and serve other people.”
Another Texas grand jury declined to indict Watson on another complaint last week too.
The 22 civil lawsuits are still going through the process.