Deshaun Watson would love to sign another contract with the Cleveland Browns… and why wouldn’t he want to? They’ve already paid him over $200 million to basically do nothing but bring drama to the perpetually drama-filled Browns franchise.
In case you are in need of a reminder, back in 2021, Deshaun Watson was hit with over 20 lawsuits that alleged and accused the NFL star of sexual misconduct. The staggering number of cases – and their repetitive nature (with most involving masseuses) – led the then newly acquired Browns quarterback to be suspended 11 games in 2022.
And though it was shocking to see all of the cases come out against Watson in 2021, most thought that would be all of the lawsuits that would come out (they weren’t). The Cleveland Browns were certainly banking on that since they signed him to a 5-year, $230 million contract – which is now viewed as one of the worst in the history of the league.
On top of the lawsuits and legal troubles, Watson has been incredibly injury prone during his time with the Browns. He suffered a shoulder injury in 2023 that limited him to playing in just six games before being shut down. Once he returned from that injury, the former Clemson standout went down with back-to-back achilles injuries in 2024 and 2025.
He’s just now working his way back from that second achilles tear, and crazily enough, all signs are pointing towards him being under center for the Browns for the 2026-27 season (at least to start). During some time with the media over the weekend, Watson emphasized that he loves Cleveland, and he’s not sure why people think he doesn’t:
“When I first got here, there was a lot of stuff going on, as the world knows. But I don’t have any bad feelings towards Cleveland. I love Cleveland. Me and my wife have a house in the east side. We’re here all the time during the summer. You can ask around, I’m at all the restaurants hanging out. I haven’t had a bad experience outside of different times in the stadium. I don’t know know why that narrative is out there, that people think I don’t like Cleveland.”
Yeah… I’d love Cleveland too if they paid me $230 million over five years.
The narrative of Watson not being a huge fan of Cleveland probably stems from the fanbase cheering when he was injured on his home turf. That doesn’t exactly scream “good vibes” between the player and the fans, but Deshaun insists that he’d entertain another contract offer from the franchise, since his is set to run out after this season:
“If the opportunity shows up (for a new contract), we’ll see where it goes.”
Needless to say, that didn’t land well with Cleveland Browns – and NFL – fans.
Fans rushed to the reply section of that post to crack jokes at the expense of Watson, and some Browns fans even threatened to renounce their fandom if the problematic quarterback was paid even a penny more by Cleveland:
Who doesn’t love an free ATM machine 😂
— Lee S (@OHhitman) August 2, 2026
— Ben’s Johnson (@iambensjohnson) August 2, 2026
Why yes! I’d love to take another giant contract for accomplishing nothing. And this franchise is the one dumb enough to give it to me
— Ryan (@ryruhlman) August 2, 2026
He’s been paid all he needs to be paid for all eternity. He doesn’t deserve a single penny more
— The fearLESS Nation (@campfearless) August 3, 2026
IMO, he flat quit on the Texans to force a trade, he’s been largely a no show for this contract and he’s weird.
So, in sum, he’s a quitter, no show, weirdo…his career ends after this year.
— ElGatoGrande34 (@ElGatoGrande34) August 3, 2026
