Deshaun Watson’s Unprecedented Deal Led to Major Speculation for Lamar Jackson’s Big Payday

Earlier in March, Cleveland Brown signed former Tennessee Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson for a five-year fully guaranteed deal. After that deal, not many NFL teams could extend their top players with a guaranteed deal. According to the latest claims by the NFLPA, the team owners and the NFL conspired to prevent the teams from offering similar types of contracts to their star players.

Notably, before the Watson deal, only Kirk Cousins signed a fully guaranteed contract with the Vikings for four years. Since then, no other players signed this type of deal. A few players recently extended or signed new contracts, like Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Matthew Stafford, and others; however, they are not fully guaranteed contracts.

After the NFL Players Association’s claims, the NFL’s attorney, Jeff Pash, released a statement. The statement says, “The pleading fails to explain the basis of their alleged expectation.”

Pash further said that the NFLPA wants punitive damages and they want the NFL to give permission to certain players to terminate their current contracts and possibly renegotiate them. Many players or quarterbacks recently signed or extended new contracts, except Lamar Jackson, who is yet to sign a new contract with the Ravens.

Safe to say, Jackson has been looking for a similar type of contract to Watson’s. Although Jackson did not receive any extension offers from the Ravens, he is hoping to get one soon. Recently, the owner of the Ravens, Steve Biscotti, said, “I don’t know that he should’ve been the first guy to get a fully guaranteed contract.”

Read More: Four Names Come Up as Soon as Melvin Gordon and Denver Broncos Break Ties

It is worth noting that Watson signed a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal with the Browns this March. However, he has yet to play for them due to his legal issues.

Will Deshaun Watson play against the Texans in the week 13 game?

Notably, the 27-year-old quarterback has missed almost 2 years of the NFL due to misconduct allegations, and earlier in August, he accepted NFL’s 11-game suspension deal. Despite not playing for the Browns, he has been attending team meetings in the training center.

Almost a week back, he practiced with the Browns for the first time since the suspension. Earlier, the GM Andrew Berry praised Watson’s professionalism and was hoping to see him play against the Texans on December 4. Meanwhile, the head coach Kevin Stefanski is still prioritizing Jacoby Brissett before Watson’s return. After losing against the Bills, they will face the Bucs next Sunday. Then, the Browns fans will get to see Watson play for them for the first time since pre-season.

Watch This Story: Deshaun Watson stinks up the field with a forgettable performance in his first Browns appearance