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With Deshaun Watson’s 2022 season hanging in the balance as the NFL appeals his six-game suspension, the 31 other teams in the league are reportedly unhappy with the Cleveland Browns over the "rigged" contract that will see little financial fallout from the league’s disciplinary action.
Watson signed a record-breaking five-year, $230 million contract back in March. The deal gave him $8.9 million in signing bonuses but a base salary of just a little over $1 million for the 2022 season – seemingly in anticipation of a suspension. That figure will jump to $46 million the following season.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, center, takes part in drills during the NFL football team's training camp, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)
Without a successful appeal, Watson stands to lose just around $345,000 of his salary – roughly $57,500 per game check.
BROWNS HEAD COACH KEVIN STEFANSKI SAYS TEAM IS PREPARING FOR DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AT QUARTERBACK
However, the general consensus around the league is one of dismay, according to one report.
"One influential NFL person told me on this trip that it doesn’t sit well with the league or 31 other owners that the Browns rigged the Watson contract so that his suspension would cause him to lose only a fraction of his 2022 compensation," NBC Sports’ Peter King reported this week.
Deshaun Watson, #4 of the Cleveland Browns, rests after running a drill during Cleveland Browns training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on July 30, 2022 in Berea, Ohio. (Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
Browns general manager Andrew Berry defended the "optics" of Watson’s contract during his introductory press conference back in March, saying it was "very similar to a lot of the larger player contracts we already have on the books."
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"We understand the optics of it. I think for us, after we got comfortable with Deshaun, the contract was really a football decision. The things that were important to us from a club perspective were to have Deshaun under contract for another year and to have it structured in a manner that would allow us maximum flexibility to execute the rest of our offseason plan," he told reporters.
Cleveland Browns new quarterback Deshaun Watson, center, speaks during a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility as general manager Andrew Berry, left, and head coach Kevin Stefanski listen, Friday, March 25, 2022, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
"I think probably the other to mention is that structure is very similar to a lot of the larger player contracts we already have on the books."
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Last week, former federal judge and independent disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson found that Watson had violated the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy but concluded that he would be given a six-game suspension with no fine, in part, because of the league’s previous rulings and his reputation prior to the two dozen allegations of sexual assault.
The NFL has appealed the ruling and appointed former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey to hear the case. The NFLPA filed a brief reply to the appeal on Friday.