Deshaun Watson Settled Most Recent Lawsuit

October 8, 2024

Browns QB Deshaun Watson has reached a settlement with a woman who accused him of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit last month, per the Washington Post.

“We have now resolved our client’s claim with Deshaun Watson,” the attorney for the woman, Anthony Buzbee, said in a statement. “The settlement is confidential.”

Buzbee also represented the nearly two dozen women who accused Watson a few years ago, reaching settlements in those cases.

That did not preclude the NFL from conducting its own investigation and suspending Watson in 2021. The league has opened an investigation into this most recent allegation and the settlement does not prevent the league from interviewing the accuser or eventually suspending Watson if it finds he violated the personal conduct policy.

Watson was named in the lawsuit by a woman who says the quarterback sexually assaulted her on a date in 2020. The details in the lawsuit mirrored the two dozen complaints of sexual misconduct from various massage therapists that resulted in an 11-game suspension for Watson in 2022.

Should Watson be suspended again, the Browns could void the remaining guaranteed money in his fully-guaranteed contract, giving them an escape hatch where one didn’t exist previously.

Watson, 29, was taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft out of Clemson by the Texans. He signed a four-year, $13.854 million rookie deal with the Texans that included a fifth-year option of around $17.3 million for the 2021 season.

The Texans later signed Watson to a four-year extension worth as much as $177 million heading into the 2020 season, paying him $39 million a year. However, Watson requested a trade after the season, then sat out the entire 2021 season while navigating more than two dozen lawsuits for sexual misconduct. He was later suspended for 11 games.

Watson was traded to the Browns for significant draft compensation in 2022 and signed a five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract as a part of the trade. The deal runs through 2026 and includes base salaries of $46 million in each of the final two seasons.

In 2024, Watson has appeared in five games for the Browns and completed 60.2 percent of his pass attempts for 852 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s added 25 carries for 131 yards and another score.

We’ll have more on Watson as the news is available.