On Tuesday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson settled all but four of the lawsuits filed against him. We answer the most important remaining questions.
During his introductory news conference with the Cleveland Browns on March 25, Deshaun Watson was asked whether he’d attempt to settle the civil lawsuits filed against him that accused him of inappropriate sexual misconduct during massage sessions.
«That’s not my intent», Watson said then. «My intent is to continue to clear my name as much as possible, and that’s what I’m focused on.»
On Tuesday, Watson and his legal team reversed course. Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the plaintiffs, told ESPN in a statement that 20 of the 24 cases against Watson had been settled. The other four, which include Ashley Solis, the first woman to sue Watson, have not been settled and remain on track to go to trial next year, according to Buzbee. Although two grand juries in Texas declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson earlier this year, the NFL is investigating whether he violated its code of conduct. The league has yet to give a timetable for when it might make a ruling. But in a statement to ESPN, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said that Watson’s settlements will have «no impact on the collectively bargained disciplinary process.»
So with 20 cases against Watson now settled, what’s next for the Browns, for the NFL and for Watson, both on and off the field? ESPN reporters Sarah Barshop, Dan Graziano and Jake Trotter delve into those questions below:
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More than a year after the first lawsuit was filed against Watson, Buzbee announced in a statement that all but four of the lawsuits have settled. Buzbee said his law firm is still «working through the paperwork related to those settlements.» Once the paperwork is complete, Buzbee said, those cases will be dismissed. Buzbee said in the statement that the terms and the amounts of the settlements are confidential, and he won’t have any further comment on the cases. It’s unclear whether the confidentiality agreement extends just to the settlement figures, or if it also restricts either the plaintiffs or Watson from talking about the specifics of the lawsuits. In April 2021, Buzbee and Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, both acknowledged that settlement talks broke down because the sides couldn’t agree on whether a non-disclosure agreement would be included. — Barshop
We don’t know anything outside of the statement Buzbee released. When reached by ESPN’s John Barr, the attorney declined to expand on the four plaintiffs. — Barshop
Buzbee and Hardin have agreed not to go to trial from Aug. 1, 2022, until March 1, 2023. While Bubzee has acknowledged that there were conversations about Solis’ case going to trial before Aug.
