From observer’s Willis & Alexander why Panthers declined Watson contract demand

[Pimpdaddy]

58 minutes ago, WUnderhill said:

 Watson seems like an extremely low character egotistical douche. I’m disappointed it took so long and so many ridiculous demands for the Panthers to grow a backbone and stop letting themselves get played.

Hate my Browns got sucked in....but Browns gonna brown..

[Big Sexy]

I was to the point, If we got hi, fine. If we didn't fine also. After that kind of money. Thank the good Lord the Browns got him. Now we can build our team. They have no money left and no meaningful draft picks for a while. 

 

[trueblade]

19 minutes ago, Pimpdaddy said:

Hate my Browns got sucked in....but Browns gonna brown..

All those years of Browns fans making jokes about Big Ben's issues...

[SmokinwithWilly]

1 hour ago, Toomers said:

They stole my theory…lol. Well put it out there first not stole. But this was one of many reasons to not do this deal. 
 

Was Watson willing to change his entire social life. Not massages. Clubs or any partying where you can be accused of something and any picture from the wrong angle and a just ONE woman who wants some money, and the Panthers are stuck in this mess with a lot more money at stake. I don’t know what Ben R. did, and I’ve thought he was a D-bag before the accusations, but he got married to a Dr. and never put himself in the position to be accused again. Is Watson going today to do that in CLE. Edit: And there is no telling what any womens rights groups might have planned. Maybe nothing. I have no clue. But it’s 2022 and I would never speak for what matters to anyone else. 

 

  Add that to injury risk(like any player) and he could easily get pissed and pull this crap again on his new team. 
 

  This year is basically shot if he gets suspended for 8 games. In a division with the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers it’s hard to imagine contending with him out half the year. 
 

  The theory that Tepper would let him pick the next HC. Didn’t believe that, although please hire Brian Flores and get the Steelers two extra 3rds. He’s a very good/great player but that’s crazy. His resume isn’t loaded with rational decisions and it’s ridiculous to give a player control. Just sign the team over to him. 
 

If someone said would you give Watson 5/230M guaranteed before any of his off - field issues, is it an immediate yes? More than Mahomes or anyone? Even if you say well, ok, we can build around him. Whoa? Not so fast. You also lose the 5 best resources to help with that building. And possibly a valuable resource you already have. How about now? The Panthers were fortunate someone came to their senses They seem to be doing well in FA. Just keep making good decisions and the wins will come. 

I think the concern was the NFL could hold of on his suspension until after his civil trial which could take a couple of years. It's possible he could be suspended multiple games or indefinitely depending on the outcome and 150m for 3 years against the cap with no way to recover it. 

[unicar15]

1 hour ago, Fan01 said:

I don't believe this for a second.

I do. 
 

I was listening to PFT today and it was recorded before the trade went down. They were talking about Von Miller and his 6-year deal. They weren’t talking about Watson at all. What they said was this…All NFL contracts get a guaranteed max of 2 years. That’s it. If you’re a superstar you MAY get 3-4 years. Take CMC for example. He is/was a superstar when he signed a 4-year $64 million contract. How much for each year? Answer: $16mil. How much guaranteed? Answer: $38 mil. 
 

That is roughly 2-1/3 years of guaranteed money. Basically exactly what PFT said.

Watson was asking for DOUBLE the amount of guarantee a normal SUPERSTAR player gets….and he has to sit out. AND…if he gets suspended or something else comes out on him. He’s owed every dime of that contract regardless. That is plainly INSANE. 
 

Tepper did his homework for a year+ on this player. PIs and all. He wanted him. If he wasn’t comfortable making those guarantees then truthfully…nobody should have been. Period. We’ll see how it plays out. Maybe bc it’s The Browns…Bur I just think it plays out badly. 

[Toomers]

4 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

I think the concern was the NFL could hold of on his suspension until after his civil trial which could take a couple of years. It's possible he could be suspended multiple games or indefinitely depending on the outcome and 150m for 3 years against the cap with no way to recover it. 

Could be another valid reason. I haven’t followed it enough to know. I was going under the assumption they would be settled before the season. And if they aren’t, we have to wonder what sort of protests could come?  If any at all?  So many variables that could wreck this. And how does a HC even speak to him? The coach pisses him off in any way and guess who’s leaving? Not the QB with the guaranteed contract. 

[Snake]

Absolutely believe this. I'm willing to bet Watson could get suspended late this year or next. 

[w280sax]

I think he will be suspended 4-6 games but if he gets in trouble after that, the browns will be all kinds of screwed.

[Jackie Lee]

3 hours ago, unicar15 said:

I do. 
 

I was listening to PFT today and it was recorded before the trade went down. They were talking about Von Miller and his 6-year deal. They weren’t talking about Watson at all. What they said was this…All NFL contracts get a guaranteed max of 2 years. That’s it. If you’re a superstar you MAY get 3-4 years. Take CMC for example. He is/was a superstar when he signed a 4-year $64 million contract. How much for each year? Answer: $16mil. How much guaranteed? Answer: $38 mil. 
 

That is roughly 2-1/3 years of guaranteed money. Basically exactly what PFT said.

Watson was asking for DOUBLE the amount of guarantee a normal SUPERSTAR player gets….and he has to sit out. AND…if he gets suspended or something else comes out on him. He’s owed every dime of that contract regardless. That is plainly INSANE. 
 

Tepper did his homework for a year+ on this player. PIs and all. He wanted him. If he wasn’t comfortable making those guarantees then truthfully…nobody should have been. Period. We’ll see how it plays out. Maybe bc it’s The Browns…Bur I just think it plays out badly. 

It's pretty crazy, aside from the Browns taking on the extra guaranteed money, the fact that Watson tacked on the bonus money so he'd get paid during suspension is just dark. Makes me think he knows he's gonna look bad in the civil trials and the NFL is gonna be in a really awkward position. All that BIg Ben stuff went down way before everyone had Twitter and he still got 6 games 

[SizzleBuzz]

6 hours ago, raleigh-panther said:

Then why did Carolina back away from perhaps its strongest bargaining chip?

No one will say.

Whoah wait a doggone minute...

...thought Rhule's empire was the single most leak-ridden in the entire NFL

@Verge @ellis

Edited March 19, 2022 by SizzleBuzz

[w280sax]

16 minutes ago, Jackie Lee said:

It's pretty crazy, aside from the Browns taking on the extra guaranteed money, the fact that Watson tacked on the bonus money so he'd get paid during suspension is just dark. Makes me think he knows he's gonna look bad in the civil trials and the NFL is gonna be in a really awkward position. All that BIg Ben stuff went down way before everyone had Twitter and he still got 6 games 

My speculation:  The bonus money was done for several reasons.

1) it changed his cap hit this year to a much lower number since the bonus will be split across the length of the contract for cap reasons.  I doubt the browns could fit him under the cap without at least some restructuring since Mayfield still is under his 5th year option. 

2) as you said, watson is protecting himself from losing large sums if and when he is suspended by having a much lower salary.  This does seem unfair as he is getting rewarded for this whole mess he is in.

3) I'm pretty sure the restructure bonus will be paid immediately as a huge lump sum.  Around 50m I believe.  Anybody would rather get that upfront rather than doled out in a regular salary.

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by w280sax

[Jackie Lee]

2 minutes ago, w280sax said:

My speculation:  The bonus money was done for several reasons.

1) it changed his cap it this year to a much lower number since the bonus will be split across the length of the contract for cap reasons.  I doubt the browns could fit him under the cap without at least some restructuring since Mayfield still is under his 5th year option. 

2) as you said, watson is protecting himself from losing large sums if and when he is suspended by having a much lower salary.  This does seem unfair as he is getting rewarded for this whole mess he is in.

3) I'm pretty sure the restructure bonus will be paid immediately as a huge lump sum.  Around 50m I believe.  Anybody would rather get that upfront rather than doled out in a regular salary.

 

He better throw Case Keenum some extra cash on the side for starting the first half of the season

[Mother Grabber]

Cleveland Browns, who were earlier told they were no longer under consternation. 

[TheProcess]

Find it funny that Watson claimed LOYALTY was so important to him, and then demanded a trade because the Texans weren't LOYAL to their word on their Coaching search. Watson then spurns the one team that stayed LOYAL in their pursuit of him. To top it all off, Watson reached out to Atlanta who hadn't made any attempt to that point, gotta love that LOYALTY!