The Deshaun Watson Discussion Thread

[Ice]

Ultimately many will turn against Watson if he doesn’t at least meet with the new GM and Coach.

He may not like the owner but that owner did pay him a truckload of money to play football.

Who will turn against him? Players? Coaches? Who cares. He’s already made his desires clear.

If that owner wasn’t paying him, someone else would/will. Acting like he owes the owner anything is silly.

If you don’t think public image matters I can’t help you.

Bottom line marketers on business know all to well how much that matters.

For icon types it goes way beyond the money from a sole source.

Copping out or cheating the system in any way from a business standpoint is foolish.

That’s what I meant. Not sure Watson goes anywhere...,,. A team will have to blow Houston away with an offer.

[OhCruelestRanter]

It’s crazy how some people have this obviously deep-seated aversion to the idea of players holding the leverage over the owners.

I wonder why that is.

[Jrblaha]

Houston is a mess. The NFL is a business from all sides, and I’ll be shocked if Watson plays another snap in Houston. He’s not happy, and sitting out is fully his right to do so. He’ll take whatever financial consequences come with that, but he’ll be traded, or he’ll sit out until he’s traded.

[honcho55]

It’s crazy how some people have this obviously deep-seated aversion to the idea of players holding the leverage over the owners.

I wonder why that is.

I don’t wonder.

Let alone ‘normal’ football fans, us idiots that play dynasty fantasy football? Enjoy the team management facet of the league. And league parity created by the current setup.

If players start having all the leverage, that facet looks very very different at a minimum. I’ll admit it might still “work”, if the NFL keeps trending that way, but yeah, I’m averse to it. I worry it’ll ruin team management and league parity.

[FiremanEd]

Ultimately many will turn against Watson if he doesn’t at least meet with the new GM and Coach.

He may not like the owner but that owner did pay him a truckload of money to play football.

Who will turn against him? Players? Coaches? Who cares. He’s already made his desires clear.

If that owner wasn’t paying him, someone else would/will. Acting like he owes the owner anything is silly.

If you don’t think public image matters I can’t help you.

Bottom line marketers on business know all to well how much that matters.

For icon types it goes way beyond the money from a sole source.

Copping out or cheating the system in any way from a business standpoint is foolish.

That’s what I meant. Not sure Watson goes anywhere...,,. A team will have to blow Houston away with an offer.

If you think ‘marketers’ care if he ‘at least meet with the coach and GM’ then I’m not sure what to tell you either. He’s made his statement publicly. Of all the things that could impact him, this even if reported, won’t be one of them. That isn’t a brand killer. His new franchise / city will determine his brand worth. His performance thereafter.

But this isn’t something worth debating, and ultimately his brand is irrelevant to me. Carry on.

[Ice]

No issues with Watson or any player holding out. Big issues with any player faking injury or reporting then not playing.

That would be low rent and without class especially when a player just signed a 4 year 160 Million dollar extension and cashed a signing bonus check for $27,000,000.00 with 100% salary guarantees through 2022.

Watson took millions and millions to play the game in Houston. I could care less if he doesn't like the owner. He sure thanked him for all the money he just gave him just a few short moth ago. Watson also has responsibilities; 27 million of them.

Public perception is a funny thing. The big boys will pay handsomely for a clean cut image. Start screwing with that and the risk is leaving millions on the table.

The Texans own his rights. Bottom line is the only way he plays football again for the next several years is 100% dependent on the Texans, not Watson. Don't blame Watson for not liking that but it is what it is.

Hope the Texans can work out something with the Jets or Miami as they seem to be the only teams with the firepower to get him. The odds are actually pretty long Houston trades him.

[mild]

The Texans own his rights. Bottom line is the only way he plays football again for the next several years is 100% dependent on the Texans, not Watson. Don't blame Watson for not liking that but it is what it is.

Hope the Texans can work out something with the Jets or Miami as they seem to be the only teams with the firepower to get him. The odds are actually pretty long Houston trades him.

Patently false on both counts. Watson controls when (and to an extent where) Watson plays. He is ready to sit this out to make the situation completely untenable for Houston. If Houston 100% controlled whether Watson played football, then he wouldn't be capable of making a human choice in sitting out. The player has real leverage here, and the situation is officially broken beyond repair - and I really can't understand why you don't see that. You can't be an NBA fan, I know that much - because the script for this is pretty well written over there.

Since when does Houston's front office care about optics?

Perhaps they don’t, but this is a different front office. New folks who have to set the stage on their tenure. Who knows what they feel is acceptable, but this is a different group of people who will handle things in their own way. O’Brien is gone.

New folks who have chosen to side with a freakin' Chaplain / Character Coach over a megastar QB on a cost-controlled deal who led the league in passing yards with no true alpha WR1. At age 25. This just does NOT happen, it has never happened. We have literally never seen the like of it. They are - quite clearly - complete boobs at running an NFL team in conjunction with managing their superstar players.

It’s crazy how some people have this obviously deep-seated aversion to the idea of players holding the leverage over the owners.

I wonder why that is.

Ding ding ding ding.

[tresskid84]

Poor Cal McNair. Cal's life is so tough these days with the team he worked so hard to inherit. Deshaun is being so mean to him for no reason, especially after he gifted him all that money. It's too bad Watson hasn't provided any value back to the franchise before he gave him all that money. I wonder how his chaplain team president felt about him lying to his QB?

[Ice]

Watson is under contract with the Texans. He holds leverage to approve a trade not whether or not he gets traded.

While it may very well be in the Texans interest to move him they do not have to for the duration of his contract. In the event he fails to report I think the new language of the CBA has something like a 50K per day no wave fine structure in place.

Like it or not the Texans hold the cards to trade him or not. Yes he can withhold services but then the team would go after his huge signing bonus he took last September. The Texans could dig in their heels and hold to his contract which means he WONT play in the NFL unless the Texans allow it no matter what Watson wants.

Both sides are playing it pretty close to the vest at this time for good reason. The Texans are a mess for sure.

[OhCruelestRanter]

This won’t happen. Agents, players, and fans would be alienated, and Watson’s value decreases as they wait to trade him. The Texans only have two options. One is to repair the relationship with Watson, but that seems completely toast. Two is to start a bidding war. While they don’t have any real leverage over Watson, they have leverage over the multiple teams interested in acquiring his services. They might as well use that.

Again, it’s crazy how some people have this obvious distaste for the idea that a player holds leverage over the owner. I don’t know why that is.

[Ice]

Of course he has leverage but no where near what the owners have. That is simply fact based on contract, CBA penalties, and Contract law.

They may not use their leverage but it takes 2 to repair a relationship.

The Texans will need to get a major haul as anything less will set a pretty dangerous precedent where players just walk for whatever reason.

I find it somewhat funny some don’t understand a billionaire owners leverage here.

Hope both sides work it out in some win win way.

[OhCruelestRanter]

Of course he has leverage but no where near what the owners have. That is simply fact based on contract, CBA penalties, and Contract law.

They may not use their leverage but it takes 2 to repair a relationship.

The Texans will need to get a major haul as anything less will set a pretty dangerous precedent where players just walk for whatever reason.

I find it somewhat funny some don’t understand a billionaire owners leverage here.

Hope both sides work it out in some win win way.

The bolder part is the crux of it. Leverage that everybody knows you’re terrified to use is not really leverage, is it? We’re clearly not the ones who “don’t understand.”

Still can’t figure out why you’re so averse to the idea that it’s the player who has the control here.

Anybody care to offer a guess? I’m stumped.

[mild]

This won’t happen. Agents, players, and fans would be alienated, and Watson’s value decreases as they wait to trade him. The Texans only have two options. One is to repair the relationship with Watson, but that seems completely toast. Two is to start a bidding war. While they don’t have any real leverage over Watson, they have leverage over the multiple teams interested in acquiring his services. They might as well use that.

Again, it’s crazy how some people have this obvious distaste for the idea that a player holds leverage over the owner. I don’t know why that is.

Thankyou for consistently seeing-and-stating the forest for the trees on this one.

The Texans digging in their heels does not actually help the Texans. Staying in a broken marriage just to spite the other isn't the way forward, and all it does is further weaken the Texan's own leverage. The situation is untenable, and it's time for a fresh start for both sides.

In every NBA version of this event, the further the team has dug in, the more toxic the situation has become. Both sides have leverage - that is not in debate, and we're not here to discuss how "all leverage matters" (lol). DeShaun can make this as ugly as he needs to to slam his point home - but he is done playing for the Texans.

And lets not pretend like a 50k fine per session is a blip on the radar to an elite QB when Patrick Mahomes literally just signed a 503 million dollar contract. When it's the future of your career at stake... you'd give up several million just to be in the right situation if you know you've got another 100+ of them coming down the line. (It must be nice!)

[murphysxm]

Yeah, Watson holds the leverage here. Him seemingly ok with sitting and paying the fines makes the Texans stuck

[The MAC Machine]

Of course he has leverage but no where near what the owners have. That is simply fact based on contract, CBA penalties, and Contract law.

They may not use their leverage but it takes 2 to repair a relationship.

The Texans will need to get a major haul as anything less will set a pretty dangerous precedent where players just walk for whatever reason.

I find it somewhat funny some don’t understand a billionaire owners leverage here.

Hope both sides work it out in some win win way.

The bolder part is the crux of it. Leverage that everybody knows you’re terrified to use is not really leverage, is it? We’re clearly not the ones who “don’t understand.”

Still can’t figure out why you’re so averse to the idea that it’s the player who has the control here.

Anybody care to offer a guess? I’m stumped.

Without a product there are no sales. The owners don’t get paid without a product. The product has the leverage based on how well it moves. Watson as a product impacts sales. Thus Watson as a product has significant leverage because without him sales decrease.