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The Cleveland Browns gave up a ton of money for quarterback DeShaun Watson, even with 22 civil lawsuits for alleged sexual misconduct against him still pending.
After the criminal charges were dismissed, it became clear that Watson would start the 2022 season. An investigation into the allegations continues, including one being conducted by the NFL itself.
On his NBC Sports talk show, Pro Football Talk, host Mike Florio recently stated his views on the situation. According to the host, settlements were never on Watson’s mind. If they were, he would have implemented them before signing a $230 million guarantee contract with the Browns.
"If Deshaun Watson had any inclination to settle the 22 pending civil lawsuits, wouldn't he have done it before signing a $230 million fully guaranteed contract? Yeah, because now the price goes up. Look, the whole thing was a mess."
Florio went on to say:
"And I think Tony Busby's antenna went up. He's the lawyer for the 22 plaintiffs last October when they tried to settle the cases and realized hey, he's trying to do this so he can get traded. And so it was never going to be easy. I think he should have done it before he became a member of the Browns."
The talk show host elaborated why Watson should have settled the cases earlier.
"So Browns fans, the team, you don't have that extra distraction hanging around you. That was all the reason to get rid of it five weeks ago when they traded for him, but if there was never going to be an easy way out of this. I think he needs to peel off some of those 230 million fully guaranteed dollars and make these cases go away, out of respect to the Browns and their fan base."
Deshaun Watson's huge contract means any settlements paid could be substantial
Due to the massive contract signed by Deshaun Watson, any proposed settlement now would be driven up by the lawyers of the plaintiffs.
Florio believes that Watson should use some of his money to settle these cases. However, whether this advice is heeded by the quarterback and his lawyers remains to be seen.
