New report reveals just how much Deshaun Watson has spent on lawyer fees
Deshaun Watson was engaged in a lengthy legal battle for months over the litany of sexual assault allegations that were levied against him. He's now engaged in a bit of a legal battle with the NFL itself as they are appealing his six-game suspension.
That may end up costing him a lot more playing time, but since his contract is guaranteed for this season, it won't cost him that much money overall.
That's fortunate for the quarterback because a new report shows that the total spent on lawyer fees is incredible. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote:
"To date, Watson has spent much more than the $100,000 Buzbee originally requested. Buzbee said Thursday that his firm incurred more than $250,000 in out-of-pocket costs while litigating the 24 cases he eventually filed.
"Last October, Watson offered each of the 22 plaintiffs (two more have filed suit since then) $100,000 to settle. All but four were ready to proceed."
At one point, Deshaun Watson could have settled the first (and perhaps only) claim against him for $100,000 or less. He refused to do so. How much more than that has he spent since then on settlements and legal fees? A LOT. wp.me/pbBqYq-cksy
That's not all though. It's tough to nail down exactly how much they've cost the quarterback given confidentiality laws, but a lot more was sunk into the ex-Texan's legal issues.
Florio speculated that the total rose well above $6 million:
"Watson spent $5 million to settle 20 of the cases. As to the four who said 'no thanks', three of them have since changed their minds. I’ll guess (and again these are all guesses) that the other three got $500,000 each to finally resolve their cases. That pushes the total to $6.5 million."
There's one more pending case that has so far refused to settle. If Deshaun Watson wants to stay out of court, the price tag may have to continue rising. That could push the total cost well over $8 million.
@ProFootballTalk The issue is that Deshaun still insists he has done nothing wrong.
In his mind, settling would’ve been an admission of guilt, which he wasn't willing to do. I’m positive his representatives advised settlement at the time and he said no. Dude has major issues.
Florio also noted that it's unclear how much the quarterback paid his own legal team to defend him, but that it's an even more exorbitant number.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback initially declined to pay lawyer Tony Buzbee's initial demand of $100,000.
How many games might Deshaun Watson be suspended for?
Should the NFL lose the appeal, then it's likely the suspension will remain at six games. No matter what happens, it's unlikely to be less than that.
However, there is great potential for the suspension to be greatly extended. The NFL has a strong case against Watson and Judge Sue L. Robinson essentially ruled in their favor before only issuing a six-game ban.
The NFL was rumored to have been pushing for a full year or more and it's hard to see that not happening if they can win the appeal.
However, eight games at a minimum does seem like the most realistic outcome from all of this, but anything can happen.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Pro Football Talk and H/T Sportskeeda