Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org.
In the wake of Deshaun Watson’s six-game suspension handed down by Sue L. Robinson, the disciplinary officer appointed by the NFL and players association, it appears there was a last-ditch negotiation attempt between Watson’s camp and the NFL to reach an agreement on a punishment.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, after the June hearing where Robinson heard from the NFL, the NFLPA and Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, she informed all parties she’d make a decision by the first week of August. She elected to give all parties five weeks so that they could have one final chance to reach an agreement on a suspension.
In the last-minute negotiations, the NFL offered a 12-game suspension with a fine close to $10 million. On the other side, the quarterback’s camp was willing to discuss a suspension of six-to-eight games. In the end, the two sides never came close to a deal and Robinson handed down her ruling.
In June, settlement talks between the NFL and the NFLPA collapsed according to Breer because the NFL pushed for a full-season punishment while the players association argued for something lighter. They reportedly planned to show comparisons to the league’s handling of cases involving three prominent team owners—the Commanders’ Daniel Snyder, the Patriots’ Robert Kraft and the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones.
In the end, Watson received a six-game suspension with no fine and the NFL has three days to appeal. The NFLPA released a statement Monday saying it would not appeal the decision and urged the NFL to follow suit.
Watson was investigated by the NFL after more than two dozen women detailed graphic accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurred during massage therapy sessions. The accounts ranged from Watson allegedly refusing to cover his genitals, to the quarterback “touching [a plaintiff] with his penis and trying to force her to perform oral sex on him.”
Twenty-five women filed civil lawsuits against Watson starting in March 2021, and only one dropped her case due to privacy concerns in April ’21. Watson agreed to settle 20 of the 24 civil lawsuits in June ’22. Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, announced the news, saying the terms and amounts agreed to are confidential and “we won’t comment further on the settlements or those cases.”
Watson reportedly settled three of the remaining four civil cases against him ahead of Monday’s disciplinary decision. The quarterback has denied all allegations against him, and two Texas grand juries declined to indict him on criminal charges earlier this spring.
