On Thursday night, a report emerged suggesting Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson offered money to the women who filed lawsuits against him.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk highlighted a statement from one of the lawsuits that stated Watson offered $100,000 for each of the 23 women. However, the offer also included a non-disclosure agreement, per PFT.
“Of course, we now know that Deshaun Watson offered each Plaintiff $100,000 to settle their cases, but not all would accept that amount, due to the aggressive nondisclosure agreement that Watson’s team proposed,” the portion of the lawsuit read.
Pro Football Talk suggested that the NDA portion “derailed” the settlement.
Based on the language in footnote 2 to the Smith lawsuit, the nondisclosure language derailed the settlement. Attorney Rusty Hardin recently explained in a podcast appearance with Gabe Feldman that the Dolphins wanted the settlements to include the NDA language.
Earlier this week, a 23rd woman filed a lawsuit against Watson. According to multiple reports, a 24th lawsuit could be coming next.
Meanwhile, the NFL is still investigating the situation and has not made a decision on whether or not he can play in 2022.