Dan Le Batard thinks the timing of the latest Deshaun Watson sexual assault lawsuit is a little too convenient for the Browns.
Details of another disturbing lawsuit against the Browns quarterback emerged on Monday after Watson successfully settled 23 of 24 civil lawsuits claiming sexual assault in 2022.
It came one day after Watson struggled mightily in the Browns’ 33-17 loss to the Cowboys.
The confluence of events led Le Batard to theorize that someone within the Cleveland Browns organization has it out for Watson.
“The number of people who will defend this behavior if they think their quarterback is good, and then the strategic leaking of stuff that makes you wonder, are they trying to get out from under the contract … it’s pretty gross,” Le Batard said on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.”
“The finances of this [are] so cold and awful that you’re now like, oh, the Browns are going to try and see if they can sneak away from everything there when they shouldn’t be able to.”
The Browns traded for and signed Watson to a record-setting five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract in 2022.
They are undoubtedly having buyer’s remorse as he’s fallen apart as a player and cutting Watson is nearly a non-option.
The Browns would still owe him $92 million in guaranteed money while also sitting on a dead-money cap charge of $172.77 million.
Pro Football Talk, which initially broke the lawsuit story, reported on specific language in Watson’s deal that would put the remainder of his contract in jeopardy if he did not previously disclose this specific claim before signing.
“Here’s the full language of paragraph 42,” website founder Mike Florio wrote. “Player hereby represents and warrants (except as otherwise disclosed to club in writing), as of the date hereof, that (1) Player has not been charged with, indicted for, convicted of or pled nolo contendre to any felony and/or misdemeanor involving fraud or moral turpitude, (ii) Player has not engaged in conduct which could subject him to a charge, indictment or conviction of any such offense, and (iii) no circumstances exist that would prevent Player’s continuing availability to the Club for duration of this Contract.”
If Watson did not previously disclose this new case to the Browns in writing before signing his new deal, they could potentially look to get out of the contract.
Of course, this is thinking several steps into the future, but Le Batard wants fans of the NFL to look at “the spin on how to get out from under this contract” that reporters in the Cleveland media have been putting on the new case.
Watson has been among the worst quarterbacks in the NFL since coming over to Cleveland after the initial allegations came to light while he was with the Texans.
It got so bad in Week 1 that there had been calls for backup Jameis Winston to step in after just one game.
Watson won a national championship in college while at Clemson and looked to be headed toward stardom as a borderline MVP candidate in Houston.
