'You live and learn as you go': Jimmy Haslam has no regrets about Deshaun Watson deal
PHOENIX — Deshaun Watson's specter hung over the proceedings when the NFL owners convened for last year's annual meetings in Florida. The quarterback had just been traded to the Browns by the Houston Texans, but that wasn't the specific reason why rival owners were upset.
It was the fully guaranteed five-year, $230-million contract that Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam had handed Watson that had elicited rival owners' ire. One owner in particular, the Baltimore Ravens' Steve Bisciotti, was quite vocal about the precedent set by the deal.
“I don’t know that he should’ve been the first guy to get a fully guaranteed contract," Bisciotti told reporters at last year's meetings. "To me, that’s something that is groundbreaking, and it’ll make negotiations harder with others."
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A year later, Watson's specter and Bisciotti's words again hung over the NFL's annual meetings as they convened at the Arizona Biltmore Resort this week. This time, it was because of the impact the contract has had on the ability of Bisciotti's team to re-sign former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, who's a free agent.
Jackson has reportedly been asking for a fully guaranteed contract along the lines of what Watson received from the Browns. The Ravens have balked, placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on the 2019 NFL MVP.
It came to a head on Monday, when Jackson put out on social media his demand to be traded by the Ravens at the same time his coach, John Harbaugh, was speaking to reporters in Arizona. Later that evening, the Haslams sat down to speak with a handful of Browns beat writers, including the Beacon Journal, to discuss a variety of topics.
The first question Jimmy Haslam was asked was about the impact of Watson's contract hasn't just had on another team, but specifically an AFC North rival's best player.
"Listen, we’re focused on the Browns," Haslam said. "We’re focused on winning games for the Browns. I think it would be inappropriate to comment on any other teams or any other team’s players."
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The original deal was offered to Watson shortly after the quarterback originally had turned the Browns — and the Haslams — down. The Browns had been one of four known suitors for the quarterback, along with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.
The contract was believed to be the piece that locked up Watson's approval. The quarterback, who arrived in Cleveland under the specter of a looming NFL personal conduct policy suspension for the more than two dozen allegations of sexual assault or sexual misconduct during massage appointments, ended up missing the first 11 games due to that punishment.
The Browns finished 7-10, including a 3-3 record during Watson's six starts in December and January. None of that is dissuading the Haslams with regard to the decision, either to make the trade or hand out the fully guaranteed deal.
"Everybody understands that in the NFL it’s all about the quarterback, right?" Jimmy Haslam said. "Kansas City Chiefs have been to three of the last four Super Bowls, won two of the last three. Why? They got No. 15 (Patrick Mahomes), right? So everybody understands the importance of quarterbacks. There’s a lot of really good young quarterbacks in the NFL. There’s a lot of really good young quarterbacks in the AFC, OK? So we felt we needed to be aggressive in getting a quarterback. Quarterbacks in their prime — (the Green Bay Packers') Aaron Rodgers is 39 now and still a phenomenal player — but quarterbacks in their prime don’t come in the market when they’re 26. So we reached out and grabbed Deshaun."
The move was immediately met with outrage from corners of the Browns' fan base over trading for someone with the off-the-field allegations, and cheers from other corners of the same fan base who just wanted the team to, they believe, solve their quarterback dilemma. Watson, after his March 25 introductory press conference, only did two more press conferences between then and the week of his regular-season debut the first week of December.
At both his introductory press conference, as well as availabilities during the Browns' June minicamp and on Aug.18 after the suspension settlement, Watson seemed to avoid directly apologizing to the women involved. The Haslams appeared with general manager Andrew Berry on the day of the suspension and remained steadfast behind their quarterback.
Some 367 days after Watson's introductory press conference, there remains a full support of Watson within the Browns organization, especially at the time. The fate of both Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski hinge on the quarterback taking a massive step forward from the performance he showed over his admittedly rusty six-game stretch last year, and doing it this season.
As for the Haslams, there remains no regret for the deal, either the trade itself or the fully guaranteed contract. While acknowledging they have even, pardon the pun, Monday morning quarterbacked the last year, they're not dwelling on those things.
"Are there — I don’t want to say little things because that’ll be taken out of context — I’m sure there are things we could have handled better, OK?" Jimmy Haslam said. "But you live and you learn as you go. That was completely new territory for all of us and [you] make the best situation."
Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jimmy Haslam stands by Browns' Deshaun Watson trade, deal a year later
