Deshaun Watson NFL Suspension Will Cost Him $5.69 Mill!
There has been lots of focus around Watson’s suspension because that is what all the women wanted to see, and of course the media helped with all the coverage…
CelebnSports247.com reports that on Thursday the suspension portion of the punishment handed down to Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Since Deshaun Watson‘s suspension has been the focus of topics since Thursday, there is still the question of his fine.
The $5 million fine that goes with Watson’s negotiated 11-game suspension is noteworthy for a couple of reasons.
ESPN reports:
Watson, who was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual misconduct during massage sessions, is believed to be the first player fined under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. In previous cases the league determined a suspension without pay was adequate. A player making $18 million per year for an 18-week (17-game) season who was suspended for nine games would lose $9 million in such a scenario.
But in the case of Watson, the NFL was determined to factor a fine into the final discipline for two reasons:
First, Watson earned his entire $10.5 million salary from the Houston Texans last year despite not playing a single game, and sources say there were more than a few people at the league office (not to mention among the general public) who thought he should face some sort of retroactive financial consequence for the 2021 season.
Second, Watson’s contract structure with the Browns lessens the financial impact of a suspension. That structure, which has been widely reported and extensively debated since Cleveland traded for Watson and signed him to the new deal, was also impacted by the contract extension Watson signed with the Texans in the summer of 2020. Combine the two deals, and Watson’s total earnings between the summer of 2020 and March 31 of next year will total at least $78.81 million after accounting for the $5 million fine.
Start with the current deal. Watson’s fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract with Cleveland featured a $44.965 million signing bonus and a 2022 salary of $1.035 million, which is the minimum 2022 salary for a player like Watson with between four and six years of service time. That means the 11-game suspension, which covers 12 weeks of the season because the Browns’ bye week falls in Week 9, will cost Watson only $690,000. (Players get paid weekly during the regular season in equal, 18-part installments.)
Now, a couple of points on this, because the Browns’ structuring the contract this way angered a lot of people who believed they were doing Watson an unnecessary favor.
Thoughts?
