In this notoriously slow time of the NFL calendar, something interesting came across the radar. For months, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk has been clamoring for the NFL or NFL Players Association to release the ruling and related documents of the collusion grievance filed by the NFLPA in 2022.
It was strange, to say the least, that neither party wanted to disclose the outcome of the proceedings. No figurative touchdown celebration from either side of the legal tiff. Eventually, Florio dug around and reported that the NFL "won" the grievance, in the sense that they didn't have to pay any damages, despite the fact that the independent arbitrator found that they did encourage teams to limit the guaranteed money they were doling out.
Leaked court documents reveal fallout from Deshaun Watson's fully-guaranteed $230m contract
On Monday, the legal documents pertaining to the case were obtained and published by Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out. These documents painted the clearest picture we've seen as to the league's reaction to the Cleveland Browns - and Jimmy Haslam - handing Deshaun Watson a fully-guaranteed contract.
The Cleveland Browns acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans on March 18, 2022, agreeing to a five-year, $240 million contract that was fully guaranteed in the process. Less than two weeks later, the owners convened for their annual meetings in Palm Beach, Florida. It was at these meetings that the NFL Management Council gave a presentation about the negatives attached to handing out fully guaranteed contracts.
At this moment in time, Haslam must've felt like the lineman who jumped early, then stood perfectly still while the referee said "False Start. Offense." Everyone in the room, Haslam included, knew he had opened a can of worms that would be difficult to undo.
That very presentation was at the center of the entire legal fracas, with the NFLPA arguing that it amounted to collusion amongst the NFL owners to limit players in their quest for fully guaranteed contracts, just like the one given to Watson. A trio of established quarterbacks was at the center of it: Russell Wilson, then of the Denver Broncos, Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.
Ultimately, the case was decided in what can best be described as a tie. The arbitrator agreed that the NFL Management Council discouraged teams from handing out fully-guaranteed contracts, but found no evidence that any teams expressly refused because of this advice. Mainly, it was the principle of all 31 other franchises that giving five-year deals that were fully guaranteed could be catastrophic for an NFL franchise.
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The finding essentially states that there's no evidence of collusion. But the ire for Cleveland's owner was apparent through both public comments and private correspondence that was uncovered in the new documents.
Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, said: "You have to leave that to (the Haslams) to make their own judgement . . . . The fact that it's $80 million above the highest contract ever given guaranteed in the history of the league (that's) 102 years old says a lot. Whether or not most teams in the NFL - or any other team - would've committed to that, I don't know. It's certainly a huge commitment."
There was also a recently revealed text message exchange between Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill and Los Angeles Chargers owner Dean Spanos. In the exchange, Spanos congratulated Bidwill on the extension reached with Kyler Murray and mentioned how it would help the Chargers in their negotiations with Justin Herbert.
It was Bidwill's reply that was unforgiving of the Browns: "I think many teams will be happy with it once they have a chance to review. Cleveland really screwed things up, but I was resolved to keep the guaranteed (money) relatively 'low.'"
Finally, the owner of the rival Baltimore Ravens had this to say, at the time: "It's like, 'Damn, I wish they hadn't guaranteed the whole contract.' I don't know that he should've been the first guy to get a fully guaranteed contract."
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For one, it appears to be very clear that the Browns' ownership group is not particularly liked amongst their contemporaries. Further, it is all too fitting that exactly what the Browns are currently experiencing is what the NFL warned the other teams about.
At the time, it was an extremely ambitious gamble, but the thinking was clear. The Browns felt they were a quarterback away, after a disappointing 2021 season with an injured Baker Mayfield. They made a calculated, albeit unpopular, decision to acquire Deshaun Watson, who was available for many controversial off-field reasons.
The gamble couldn't have failed more spectacularly. In addition to Watson being suspended for the first 11 games, he was a disappointment each time he actually did take the field. The appearances on the field were rare due to a litany of injuries that have held him out of 21 of a possible 34 games over the last two seasons.
The Browns are not nearly out of the woods yet. Watson still has all of this season and next season on the books. Barring an insurance-fueled Hail Mary, they will have to take the full brunt of what is considered by many to be the worst trade, and perhaps contract extension, in NFL history.