Deshaun Watson to Browns - $230 million guaranteed

[The Wiz]

18 minutes ago, Mikie's Bills said:

Ian Rapoport

@RapSheet

Important contract note for Deshaun Watson, who got a 5-year, $230M contract. His base salary for 2022 is $1M, which means if he’s suspended, it’ll come out of that base.

 

People were making a big deal about the Packers potentially allocating ~40% of their cap space to Rodgers and Adams. With this contract detail, it appears that the last 4 years of Deshaun's deal could all be $50M+ cap hits, unless I'm understanding this wrong? This isn't like the Mahomes deal either where they can stretch out the signing bonus over 8-10 years. Garrett will make an average of $29M/yr over those 4 years.

 

~$80M+/year tied up into two (great) players, and no first round picks for the next 3 drafts. They and a lot of teams must be hoping for substantial, consistent salary cap increases the next 5 years, which could very well be the case.

 

This deal absolutely makes them better, but if Watson is suspended for any notable amount of time this season then their playoff hopes could be over with how competitive the AFC will be. And then from 2023-26 they may be hamstrung financially and by their lack of 1st round rookie talent on the roster.

 

Should be interesting, especially if they find a way to **** it all up.

Based on the new TV contact alone it's expect to be up to 250+ in the next 2 years I believe. 

 

https://overthecap.com/what-kind-of-impact-will-the-new-tv-deals-possibly-have-on-the-salary-cap/

Edited March 19, 2022 by The Wiz

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

1 hour ago, KDIGGZ said:

Your friend can use Roethlisberger as a use case for best case scenario for Watson. Stay out of trouble, win a Superbowl (or two), donate to some charities, get married and have some cute kids, have a long solid career, and most people will forget how much of a dirtbag you were in your 20's. Just another dumb kid right? How ironic that Cleveland is turning into the one thing they hate the most...the Steelers!

Agreed. That said, I don’t understand how people can compare Watson to roethlisberger at least based on what we know. Ben’s situation was like Kobe’s basically.
 

Watson’s situation has some additional red flags of being a serial predator type of situation. It should be really alarming for any team to invest in Watson. Just a huge risk. 

[Mikie's Bills]

10 minutes ago, The Wiz said:

Based on the new TV contact alone it's expect to be up to 250+ in the next 2 years I believe. 

 

https://overthecap.com/what-kind-of-impact-will-the-new-tv-deals-possibly-have-on-the-salary-cap/

Thanks for the link, a timely article to come out today!

 

All teams will have a lot of money to play with then, hopefully we can lure and retain talent of the years while we're in SB contention.

[mannc]

1 hour ago, nbbillsfan said:

It Sucks that there are so many elite, young, qbs in the AFC while so few in the NFC. There are legitimately 7-8 AFC teams who will be competitive for the next decade simply because of their QB (including us, of course.) Getting the elite QB is the hardest part of the equation, and much of our  competition has that spot solved. I guess the posting is they are all outside the afc east.

 

The NFC has like 1 or 2 answers at qb for the present and future. If we are in the NFC I think we could cake walk our way to the Superbowl until Josh’s legs fall off.  

Yep…it’s not likely the Bills will ever have a clearer path to the Lombardi than they had this year…sure, we’ll always be in the mix as long as Josh is around, but those 13 seconds are looking bigger all the time.

[davefan66]

Disgusting how this sweepstakes played out.  Surprised by the number of teams that openly tried to get him with his legal issues.

 

That being said, he doesn’t scare me.  We lost in the playoffs to him with a 2nd year Josh and a defense not as good as our current one. Josh is true pro in every sense and hasn’t hit his ceiling yet. Watson is who he is and won’t be taking the Browns to anything special.

[SoCal Deek]

4 minutes ago, mannc said:

Yep…it’s not likely the Bills will ever have a clearer path to the Lombardi than they had this year…sure, we’ll always be in the mix as long as Josh is around, but those 13 seconds are looking bigger all the time.

That’s what everyone said after Super Bowl XXV but then we went back for three more bites at the apple. 

[buffalo2218]

2 minutes ago, davefan66 said:

Disgusting how this sweepstakes played out.  Surprised by the number of teams that openly tried to get him with his legal issues.

 

That being said, he doesn’t scare me.  We lost in the playoffs to him with a 2nd year Josh and a defense not as good as our current one. Josh is true pro in every sense and hasn’t hit his ceiling yet. Watson is who he is and won’t be taking the Browns to anything special.

Agreed, what some are forgetting is that the Browns defense wasn't exactly lighting it up last year. I get that Mayfield accurately stunk up the joint, but their defense wasn't stellar by any means. As far as Mayfield wanting to be traded to the Colts? Do the Colts actually want him is more of a bigger question than where Mayfield wants to go. I haven't heard anything remotely close to the Colts showing interest. As for Watson, aside from facing tougher defenses, he'll be facing intense criticism, especially if he doesn't play up to that monster contract

[stevestojan]

So I assume when spending nearly a quarter billion dollars, you do your due diligence. Which for Watson could be wrapped up with a quick google search, but I think maybe they did more than that. 
 

But after said diligence, they structured his contract so he would lose the least amount possible if/when his suspension hits. You don’t do that unless there’s even a small chance of suspension. So, do the Browns believe he might get suspended for a heinous act, and still went this route. 
 

There’s “the Browns being the Browns” and then there’s this. And this is pathetic. 

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

1 hour ago, nbbillsfan said:

It Sucks that there are so many elite, young, qbs in the AFC while so few in the NFC. There are legitimately 7-8 AFC teams who will be competitive for the next decade simply because of their QB (including us, of course.) Getting the elite QB is the hardest part of the equation, and much of our  competition has that spot solved. I guess the posting is they are all outside the afc east.

 

The NFC has like 1 or 2 answers at qb for the present and future. If we are in the NFC I think we could cake walk our way to the Superbowl until Josh’s legs fall off.  

When everyone has a Top End QB…they no longer are the biggest decider in the win or the loss.

 

in the past…Allen gets the ball drives down the field and scores.  Game in hand.  But now…Allen scores…and now you have Mahomes, Wilson, Herbert, Carr, Jackson, Watson, Burrow who can all easily just match point for point.

 

So now you ask…what will be the difference?

 

And all eyes point to Health, Depth and the most important…COACHING.

 

Or more to the point…in game decision making.  Which McDermott has a lot of work to do.

[mannc]

7 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

That’s what everyone said after Super Bowl XXV but then we went back for three more bites at the apple. 

I don’t recall everyone saying that after XXV, but if they did, then they were right, weren’t they?

[SoCal Deek]

Just now, mannc said:

I don’t recall everyone saying that after XXV, but if they did, then they were right, weren’t they?

Pretty much everyone felt that the Bills year was 1990. They had the best team and had it all set up. They’d just crushed the Raiders in the championship game. But go figure….they went back year after year after year. The point is we don’t know YET whether those thirteen seconds were the end or the beginning. It’ll be a whole lot of fun to find out. 👍

 

GO BILLS

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

4 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Pretty much everyone felt that the Bills year was 1990. They had the best team and had it all set up. They’d just crushed the Raiders in the championship game. But go figure….they went back year after year after year. The point is we don’t know YET whether those thirteen seconds were the end or the beginning. It’ll be a whole lot of fun to find out. 👍

 

GO BILLS

Well they definitely were not the beginning as Buffalo had lost the past 2 seasons  in the playoffs.  Each one of those they had just a good a look of going to the SB as they did in 2021.

 

So 2022 marks year 4 of their window.  Which is probably in the middle of a window barring internal collapse due to non football related issues or just parity of the league.

[Mr. WEO]

I thought everyone said he was going to go somewhere warm?

 

oh, wait...

 

[Warcodered]

1 hour ago, wjag said:

Putting all the contract and legal stuff aside, the question is can a carreer-so-far dome QB be successful on the shores of Lake Erie?  At the end of the day, that is going to be the thing to watch.  I’ve attended a game in Cleveland stadium.  The breeze be a blowing there.  

Also he's won the same number of playoff games as Baker Mayfield.

[Chicken Boo]

2 hours ago, zevo said:

I know fandom runs deep, but how can you honestly root for this guy. Only in the NFL does a sexual predator get rewarded with a 200+ mill guaranteed contract...Its really gross.

 

I could take this conversation numerous places, but I don't want to derail the thread.

 

All of the sexual predators the league has had, hell this country has had in VERY high places, but we're drawing the line at Watson?  This is where my problem lies. 

 

He wasn't brought up on criminal charges.  If the people want to shun him, that's their prerogative, but that's also their own struggle.  

Edited March 19, 2022 by Chicken Boo

[The Wiz]

47 minutes ago, Mikie's Bills said:

Thanks for the link, a timely article to come out today!

 

All teams will have a lot of money to play with then, hopefully we can lure and retain talent of the years while we're in SB contention.

That was from last year actually but still all applies. 

[SoCal Deek]

23 minutes ago, RalphWilson'sNewWar said:

Well they definitely were not the beginning as Buffalo had lost the past 2 seasons  in the playoffs.  Each one of those they had just a good a look of going to the SB as they did in 2021.

 

So 2022 marks year 4 of their window.  Which is probably in the middle of a window barring internal collapse due to non football related issues or just parity of the league.

As I said….we’re all going to find out together. All’s I know for sure is that it’s a whole lot better than 7-9 forever!

 

GO BILLS

Edited March 19, 2022 by SoCal Deek

[QLBillsFan]

2 minutes ago, Chicken Boo said:

 

I could take this conversation numerous places, but I don't want to derail the thread.

 

All of the sexual predators the league has had, hell this country has had in VERY high places, but we're drawing the line at Watson?  

 

This is where my problem lies.  He wasn't brought up on criminal charges.  If the people want to shun him, that's their prerogative, but that's also their own struggle.  

No struggle. It’s apparently very difficult to bring criminal charges in these cases. His lawyer essentially is putting the women on trial. Civil cases will likely bring settlements. Sorry, 22 women just seems a few too many for me. I am glad he’s not the face of the Bills. It’s an embarrassment to the Browns imho. I shall shun him as best I can, and it’s really no struggle. 

[davefan66]

1 hour ago, buffalo2218 said:

Agreed, what some are forgetting is that the Browns defense wasn't exactly lighting it up last year. I get that Mayfield accurately stunk up the joint, but their defense wasn't stellar by any means. As far as Mayfield wanting to be traded to the Colts? Do the Colts actually want him is more of a bigger question than where Mayfield wants to go. I haven't heard anything remotely close to the Colts showing interest. As for Watson, aside from facing tougher defenses, he'll be facing intense criticism, especially if he doesn't play up to that monster contract

I’d be surprised if he’d publicly ask to be traded to the Colts unless there has been feelers.  Problem is they don’t have a first this year.  I’m sure the Browns made the trade for watson expecting knowing they’d get pics for mayfield.  Is he worth a first?  Doubtful.  But in todays NFL, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.  He has shown flashes and maybe a guy like Reich could save his career.

 

The Texans D when he was playing was very good, doesn’t Thisbe that in Cleveland.

[buffalo2218]

9 minutes ago, davefan66 said:

I’d be surprised if he’d publicly ask to be traded to the Colts unless there has been feelers.  Problem is they don’t have a first this year.  I’m sure the Browns made the trade for watson expecting knowing they’d get pics for mayfield.  Is he worth a first?  Doubtful.  But in todays NFL, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.  He has shown flashes and maybe a guy like Reich could save his career.

 

The Texans D when he was playing was very good, doesn’t Thisbe that in Cleveland.

Problem with the Browns getting a first for Mayfield is that he does have some past issues that would make a lot of teams balk at giving up a first. I'd forgotten that the Colts don't have a first round pick this year. Plus there's the matter of paying Mayfield's salary. I didn't much like his attitude but I do feel bad for him given the Browns selling their soul to the devil. I honestly thought Watson was smart enough to stay away from Cleveland given how things unfolded with Mayfield. I thought for sure he'd choose the Saints. Hell he'd have had a blast at Mardi Gras with all those shirtless women, who needs a massage parlor when he has that? Not to mention NOLA had a LOT more talent than Atlanta. The Browns are on par talent wise with NOLA, but given what's happened, I didn't think Watson would even entertain the notion of signing with Cleveland with the AFC being an absolute beast of a conference

[Beerball]

17 minutes ago, davefan66 said:

I’d be surprised if he’d publicly ask to be traded to the Colts unless there has been feelers.  Problem is they don’t have a first this year.  I’m sure the Browns made the trade for watson expecting knowing they’d get pics for mayfield.  Is he worth a first?  Doubtful.  But in todays NFL, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.  He has shown flashes and maybe a guy like Reich could save his career.

 

The Texans D when he was playing was very good, doesn’t Thisbe that in Cleveland.

Now way in hell they get a first, IMO. Maybe a third and change w the third going conditionally to a second.

[YoloinOhio]

 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

LeBron approves. This guy is really something else. 
 

 

[YoloinOhio]

18 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

LeBron approves. This guy is really something else. 
 

 

Another vote - which is intentionally gross 

 

[Strethor]

People dont give a ***** on what you do or your character if you play the hardest positional sport in all of sports at a elite level // this is sad but the truth. In the begining of the week I thought Baker was being unfair and over the top - however we found how serious the Browns are and how shady of a front office they have. Deshaun almost caused 2 [+ 1 if you include the Dolphins during the first half of the season, and another if you consider the Texans temporarily] franchises to combust while being traded to a third... What a week

Edited March 19, 2022 by Strethor

[Hapless Bills Fan]

43 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Another vote - which is intentionally gross 

 

 

For those unfamiliar, this guy:

https://www.tmz.com/2021/06/30/los-angeles-dodgers-mlb-star-trevor-bauer-disturbing-allegations-restraining-order-alleged-assault/

 

Because when you've got the support of a guy who's been accused of morphing a consensual sexual encounter into choking a woman unconscious, anally raping her, and punching her in the head and neck to produce those photos, that just really reassures everyone about your character. 

 

Must feel really good for a man accused of indecent conduct and sexual assault to have that guy's public support.

 

38 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Lol. What a moron that guy is.

 

I See No Lies. 

[Lfod]

2 hours ago, QLBillsFan said:

No struggle. It’s apparently very difficult to bring criminal charges in these cases. His lawyer essentially is putting the women on trial. Civil cases will likely bring settlements. Sorry, 22 women just seems a few too many for me. I am glad he’s not the face of the Bills. It’s an embarrassment to the Browns imho. I shall shun him as best I can, and it’s really no struggle. 

People make choices. You choose a profession like being a massage therapist you should have a plan in place for dealing with a situation like a client acting inappropriate. You shouldn't have to but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. You shouldn't need home security but people still have it. 

 

If the first few of the girls spoke out or pressed charges then maybe that might have prevented some of them from having to go through it at all. It might not have helped the first girl but after a few incidents it would have been taken more seriously. It would make a bigger difference to take action immediately. 

 

You involve money and a lawsuit you might have people that had a bad experience with the situation looking for retribution and you might have also have people that are opportunitist that will piggyback off others just because they have the opportunity. 

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all that there was inappropriate behavior happening but you can't wait around months and years never press charges and jump in in a lawsuit and really expect criminal justice. I never seen anyone speaking out against this dude until the lawsuit was news. 

[Beerball]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

Another vote - which is intentionally gross 

 

https://www.tmz.com/2021/04/09/deshaun-watson-admits-consensual-sexual-encounters-with-some-accusers/#:~:text=Hardin explained Watson gets roughly,find businesses to patronize ...

 

Why would an NFL QB not use actual massage therapists supplied by the team? Why admit that "On some occasions, some sexual activities would have taken place?" Guy is scum. If anyone had doubts about Bauer this should give you pause.

[Turk71]

Just curious, why is this topic pinned?

[nedboy7]

This thread is just wow. People are actually defending this guy and finding blame in the victims.  Reminds me of that congressman who recently said his advice for his daughters was if rape is inevitable just relax and enjoy it.  

[Big Blitz]

 

[QLBillsFan]

2 hours ago, Lfod said:

People make choices. You choose a profession like being a massage therapist you should have a plan in place for dealing with a situation like a client acting inappropriate. You shouldn't have to but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. You shouldn't need home security but people still have it. 

 

If the first few of the girls spoke out or pressed charges then maybe that might have prevented some of them from having to go through it at all. It might not have helped the first girl but after a few incidents it would have been taken more seriously. It would make a bigger difference to take action immediately. 

 

You involve money and a lawsuit you might have people that had a bad experience with the situation looking for retribution and you might have also have people that are opportunitist that will piggyback off others just because they have the opportunity. 

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all that there was inappropriate behavior happening but you can't wait around months and years never press charges and jump in in a lawsuit and really expect criminal justice. I never seen anyone speaking out against this dude until the lawsuit was news. 

Actually two women have come forward and you can find their names. Someone has to start it and these two courageous women have done so. Followed then by many others who don’t want to be named publicly. 

1 hour ago, Big Blitz said:

 

The $1M base is the Browns fully being aware he’s going to be suspended. And knowing this winning him over by making sure he gets a huge raise. At the same time protecting his $ so he loses very little when suspended. Credit MS as one of the few in media who are calling it what is it. 

[Captain Hindsight]

6 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

Why does this remind me of Michael Vick? These things don’t seem to work out after a player goes through a period on the outside. But we’ll all certainly see.

Sort of reminds me of the cutler situation. How motivated will he be?  He gets his feelings hurt, demands a trade and then was a terrible leader for 6 years

[buffaloboyinATL]

15 minutes ago, QLBillsFan said:

The $1M base is the Browns fully being aware he’s going to be suspended. And knowing this winning him over by making sure he gets a huge raise. At the same time protecting his $ so he loses very little when suspended. Credit MS as one of the few in media who are calling it what is it. 

This whole situation just feels gross to me, but honestly, that $1 million salary, just to protect him from losing money during his inevitable suspension, made me lose what little respect I had left for the Browns organization.  

[Niagara Bill]

3 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

You suggest he might very well suck because he’s on the Browns? 
 

Not following the logic but ok.

Easy...does Josh with Dick Jauron or Rex Ryan equal success.

That is logic,

[Beerball]

2 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

 

Could not agree more. The fact that The Shield hasn't stepped in and made them rework the contract tells you everything you need to know. That contract should be ripped up and reworked to not give Watson such a huge advantage this year.

[WotAGuy]

10 minutes ago, Beerball said:

Could not agree more. The fact that The Shield hasn't stepped in and made them rework the contract tells you everything you need to know. That contract should be ripped up and reworked to not give Watson such a huge advantage this year.

Does the league have that power though?  I agree the whole contract thing is disgusting, but I’m not sure there is a mechanism to prevent or change it. 

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

30 minutes ago, Beerball said:

Could not agree more. The fact that The Shield hasn't stepped in and made them rework the contract tells you everything you need to know. That contract should be ripped up and reworked to not give Watson such a huge advantage this year.

 

The NFL allows massive contract shenanigans every year. Look no further than our deal with Von Miller. 

 

Why would they draw the line at a team structuring a contract so that a player facing a potential suspension ends up with more cash in his pocket if he does get suspended? 

[Beerball]

21 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

Does the league have that power though?  I agree the whole contract thing is disgusting, but I’m not sure there is a mechanism to prevent or change it. 

I believe that they have the power to void a trade, not sure about a contract though. At the very least they should publicly send a strongly worded letter to the team and player.  Roger's silence tells you all you need to know.

 

What's the over under on how long the suspension will be? 5.5 games?

[wjag]

9 minutes ago, Beerball said:

What's the over under on how long the suspension will be? 5.5 games?

Over. 6 games with a reduced sentence for better behavior 

Edited March 19, 2022 by wjag