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Cleveland Browns season ticket holders Andrea Thome and family decided to cancel their season tickets for the team following new Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s press conference.
Andrea, the wife of baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome, tweeted out that she decided to cancel the season tickets:
“Officially cancelled our Browns season tickets today and asked for a refund as they were paid in full. Very sad after 40 years as a fan, but this is my line in the sand. I believe women. Especially when there are 22 of them. That press conference did nothing to change my mind.”
She further stated that if the team doesn’t refund them for the tickets, she’ll auction them and donate all the proceeds to different women’s crisis charities throughout Ohio:
"They may not give us a refund. But I sent the letter today. If @Browns won’t refund—I will auction off every single game and publicly donate every cent to different women’s crisis charities in N.E. Ohio, raising awareness week by week during the season."
Cleveland traded for Watson this offseason, trading away their first-round draft picks for the next three years, including the one for this year, to the Houston Texans. The team also gave the quarterback a new contract.
He signed a five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns, including a $44,965,000 signing bonus, $230 million guaranteed, and an average yearly salary of $46,000,000.
This year, he’ll earn a base salary of $1,035,000 and a signing bonus of $44,965,000 while carrying a cap hit of $10,028,000 and a dead cap value of $230 million.
The quarterback spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Texans, throwing for 14,539 yards, 104 touchdowns, and 36 interceptions. In the 2020 season, he led the NFL in passing yards with 4,823 yards.
Deshaun Watson and the sexual harassment claims
Despite being cleared by two different grand juries in Texas on criminal charges, the 26-year-old is facing over two dozen civil lawsuits that describe visual stories of sexual harassment and sexual assault that took place during massage therapy sessions.
He could also still face punishment from the league for violating their personal conduct policy.
We’ll see the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback under center for the Browns in the 2022 season, but for how many games remain uncertain.
