We learned yesterday that Deshaun Watson’s camp was working with the NFL and the NFLPA on a settlement on the NFL’s appeal of his six-game suspension and that a decision was imminent. Today we have our answer.
Deshaun Watson will serve an 11-game suspension and pay a $5 million dollar fine for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
On August 2, Sue L. Robinson imposed a six-game suspension on Watson for numerous counts of sexual misconduct, and it was originally believed that the NFL was unwilling to settle for anything less than a 12-game suspension and an $8 million fine.
Mary Kay Cabot reported that Watson would accept an eight-game suspension and a $5 million fine. The reported discipline agreed on by the two sides has each party getting half of what they wanted with the NFL getting nearly as many games as they wanted and in exchange, they came down to the $5 million fine that Watson was willing to accept.
Adam Schefter is reporting that the $5 million fine will go to charity:
Today’s agreement ends a long-running investigation by the NFL and local and federal authorities that began with a single lawsuit filed against Watson on March 16, 2021. An additional 23 cases would follow that lawsuit over the next year that alleged that Watson was guilty of sexual misconduct on numerous occasions against as many as 24 different women on dates ranging from March 2020 to March 2021, when the first suit was filed.
Watson’s first regular season game for the Cleveland Browns will come on December 4 when the Browns visit Houston to take on the Texans. Oh, the irony.
Deshaun Watson released a statement this afternoon on the decision: