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If it hadn’t already sunk in, it certainly did on Sunday following their blowout loss at home to the Dallas Cowboys: the Cleveland Browns have an unmitigated disaster on their hands with Deshaun Watson and his contract.
After trading for Deshaun Watson in 2022 amidst a bevy of sexual assault/misconduct allegations, the Browns handed the embattled former Heisman trophy-winning signal-caller a fully guaranteed 5-year, $230 million contract.
And thus far, it’s looking like, quite literally, the worst contract in the history of the sport.
During and after Watson’s dreadful performance on Sunday, Browns fans and the NFL world at large were coming to terms with just how much time and money remains on Watson’s disastrous deal, which is set to pay him about $73 million next season ALONE.
Only 50 regular season games (on paper) of Deshaun Watson left pic.twitter.com/n3lQq9sOvh
— John (@JohnHillbery) September 8, 2024
“As a reminder, Deshaun Watson carries a $72.9 million cap hit in 2025 AND 2026. It’s the worst contract ever,” said a producer of ESPN’s Get Up.
“Deshaun Watson has the most uncuttable and untradable contract the NFL has ever seen,” concurred sports business reporter Andrew Brandt.
“Deshaun Watson is the worst decision in the history of the Cleveland Browns and it’s not even close,” a viral post on X bluntly stated.
Making Watson’s contract even worse is the fact that the Browns jettisoned former #1 overall pick Baker Mayfield out of town, who now looks like a man reborn and every bit of the franchise QB he was expected to be in Tampa Bay with the Bucs.
If Watson puts up a similar performance in Week 2 on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the calls to bench him for Jameis Winston will become defeating as Watson is now in his third year in Cleveland and has still yet to show any signs of being the Pro Bowler he once was in Houston.
Deshaun Watson died on that massage table. This is someone else.
— They Got Me (@PaulTweetsRIP) September 8, 2024