Browns owner defends giving Deshaun Watson fully guaranteed contract

Deshaun Watson’s six-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal with the Cleveland Browns is likely to become the benchmark that many top-tier quarterbacks ask for in all future contract negotiations.

However, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam recently admitted that he does not regret giving the polarizing QB the most guaranteed money in NFL history, despite Watson missing the first 11 games of the 2022 season and the negative attention it brought the franchise.

"Every team, every business, has to look and do what they think is in the best interest of their team," Haslam told the Akron Beacon Journal. "We did what we thought was in the best interest of our team. We still feel that way. So, we’re excited to, if you will, have the stuff behind us. This time last year, how many games is he going to play? Is he going to play? Is he not going to play? He’s going to be there the whole season [now] and barring injury, heaven forbid, he’s going to play all 17 games and hopefully more. That I think alone is a bigger leap to the organization, to Deshaun, to all of us."