The Cleveland Browns and their quarterback Deshaun Watson are back in the news for negative reasons after the quarterback has a new lawsuit filed against him.
As a result, the Browns may just have a way to void the remainder of Watson’s contract.
Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk obtained a copy of Watson’s contract and has found a key provision in it that may give the Browns an avenue to void the rest of the guarantees on Watson’s contract. Here is the paragraph:
“Player hereby represents and warrants (except as otherwise disclosed to club in writing), as of the date hereof, that (1) Player has not been charged with, indicted for, convicted of or pled nolo contendre to any felony and/or misdemeanor involving fraud or moral turpitude, (ii) Player has not engaged in conduct which could subject him to a charge, indictment or conviction of any such offense, and (iii) no circumstances exist that would prevent Player’s continuing availability to the Club for duration of this Contract.”
So as Florio states, this really comes down to whether or not Watson and his agent disclosed this particular instance to the Browns when he signed his contract with the team. If he didn’t, then the Browns have the grounds to terminate the rest of his deal and cut bait with no penalty.