The Houston Texans were eligible to begin contract extension talks with quarterback Deshaun Watson as soon as the 2019 season ended.
As the disappointing of the Kansas City Chiefs drubbing the Texans 51-31 in the divisional playoffs subsided, the anticipation of extending the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback began to build.
According to coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, working out a contract extension with Watson before the regular season was a goal of executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby and football administration coordinator Kevin Krajcovic, who O’Brien said “did a great job in this whole process.”
“I think we felt that it was important to get this done before the season,” O’Brien said. “We worked hard on it, like I said, with Deshaun’s agent David Mulugheta, and both sides worked very hard on it. I think it’s great that it’s done before the season.”
#Texans QB @deshaunwatson saw his family on his contract extension Zoom call, and that is when the emotions started to flow. pic.twitter.com/o79vEhl4KB
— The Texans Wire (@TheTexansWire) September 6, 2020
The extension keeps Watson under contract with the AFC South club through the 2025 season to the tune of $160 million total money. Watson is slated to earn $39 million annually, making him the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL. The highest paid quarterback is Super Bowl LIV MVP, Patrick Mahomes, who will be in Kansas City waiting on Watson and the Texans.
Similarly, O’Brien knows the team has to quickly move on from the success of extending Watson to preparing for the challenge of beating the defending Super Bowl champions in their own venue to start the regular season.
“You have to obviously quickly turn the page to the Kansas City Chiefs, which we started that process [Saturday night], and that’s what we’ll work hard towards all week leading up to Thursday night,” O’Brien said.