“They are p*ssed” - Former NFL executive reveals owners will have a hard time paying QBs after Deshaun Watson’s new precedent
Deshaun Watson is a wealthy man, and NFL owners aren't exactly happy about how the Cleveland Browns collaborated with the quarterback for him to acquire that financial status.
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti believes that the Deshaun Watson deal has set a precedent that will make paying their talent (aka the NFL product itself) very financially taxing for owners. Bisciotti said:
"Damn, I wish they hadn't guaranteed the whole contract. I don't know that he should've been the first guy to get a fully guaranteed contract. To me that's something that is a groundbreaker, and it'll make negotiations harder with others."
For the NFLPA, it's a different story. The five-year, $230 million contract Deshaun Watson megadeal signed back in March was reportedly years in the making, according to NFLPA President JC Tretter.
Tretter said:
"We had an opportunity a few years ago when Kirk Cousins and his agent Mike McCartney wisely used the leverage of the franchise tag and free agency to earn a fully guaranteed contract from the Vikings. They worked closely with our union to make it happen. The talk in our locker rooms was a hope that other top free agents -- especially QBs who were negotiating immediately after Cousins -- would demand the same.
Tretter continued, describing how Watson's agent worked with the NFLPA to "push past" the league's "funding rule":
"That did not happen. But we may have hit a turning point with the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson. For years, clubs have told agents that a main reason for not guaranteeing contracts was the 'funding rule' -- an archaic league rule that says teams must put into escrow an amount of money equal to what they are guaranteeing a player in any contract beyond the first year. Thanks to (Browns owner) Jimmy Haslem and (general manager) Andrew Berry ... for doing what other NFL owners and executives have mostly been unwilling to do ... we once again have proof that the funding rule is an artificial barrier to guaranteed money, and credit to David Mulugheta, Watson's agent, for working with our union to push past it."
Deshaun Watson got his massive contract after a year off from the NFL
The details surrounding the nearly quarter-of-a-million dollar pact Deshaun Watson signed with the Browns make it even more incredible on the part of those negotiating on his behalf.
Cleveland's new quarterback hadn't played in 14 months when he signed his extension. The last time he played, the Texans lost five straight games and seven of their last ten games overall.
Let's not forget why the former Clemson signal-caller hadn't played in so long in the first place. Watson was facing charges for heinous sex crimes against 22 women. Somehow overcoming that and then turning around and setting financial records is troubling.
The case won't affect his future, with a trial set for July or during the 2023 offseason. But that he could get his much-guaranteed money may fundamentally change the NFL free-agent market moving forward, particularly for quarterbacks.