Nearly four years after the NFL suspended Deshaun Watson for 11 games and fined him, questions have emerged over what happened to the $7 million tied to his punishment. The money was supposed to support nonprofits working to prevent sexual misconduct, educate young people, and help survivors. But a new report alleges that some of it went toward the league’s own internal training programs instead.
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“EXCLUSIVE: Four years ago, the NFL pledged $7 million to non-profits as part of Deshaun Watson’s suspension. But that money didn’t all go to charity. Instead, the league steered some of the money back to itself to pay for its own internal ‘training’,” David Covucci of FOIAball wrote on X.
To understand the allegation, it helps to go back to August 2022. Watson received an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine after the NFL and the NFL Players Association reached a settlement over his conduct. The league and the Cleveland Browns each contributed another $1 million, bringing the announced total to $7 million.
At the time, Commissioner Roger Goodell said the fund would support organizations “across the country.” The NFL described its intended use in a statement.
“This fund will support the work of non-profit organizations across the country that educate young people on healthy relationships, promote education and prevention of sexual misconduct and assault, support survivors, and related causes,” the league said.
Covucci set out to determine how much of that money had reached organizations doing that work. According to his report, the NFL Foundation distributed just $2.3 million over three years to charities focused on sexual abuse and misconduct prevention.
When asked about the figures, the league reportedly said it was still distributing the funds. The report also pointed to the NFL Foundation’s $97 million in charitable giving in the previous year, raising questions about why the Watson-related money had not been fully accounted for.
The NFL then directed Covucci to four organizations it had supported. Together, they had received roughly $600,000, according to his account. The league subsequently offered another explanation, saying some of the money was being used for “harassment education and training programs across the league.”
That explanation raises a question about the original promise. The NFL’s announcement specifically referred to supporting nonprofit organizations. Funding internal league training is a different use of the money, particularly when the league itself benefits from those programs.
The Browns’ contribution is another unresolved part of the story. Both the team and the NFL pledged $1 million, but when Covucci asked about the Browns’ share, the league reportedly directed him to the team. He also found no evidence that the Haslam family, which owns the Browns, had donated to charities focused on sexual abuse during the period he examined.
The report does not establish that the entire $7 million went undistributed. Rather, it raises questions about how much reached outside nonprofits, how much was allocated to internal programs, and whether the original commitment was fulfilled.
How Deshaun Watson’s lawsuits led to an 11-game suspension
The controversy surrounding the fund stems from the allegations against Watson, who faced multiple civil lawsuits from massage therapists who accused him of sexual assault and other inappropriate conduct during appointments while he played for the Houston Texans. Watson denied wrongdoing, and the allegations were not the same as criminal convictions.
The first lawsuits were filed in 2021, with additional claims following in 2022. In March 2022, grand juries in Harris and Brazoria counties declined to indict Watson. That decision meant he did not face criminal charges arising from those investigations, but the NFL continued with its own disciplinary process.
The Browns subsequently traded for Watson and signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year contract worth $230 million. By June 2022, attorney Tony Buzbee said that 20 of the 24 civil lawsuits had been settled.
The NFL’s investigation proceeded separately from the civil cases. On August 1, 2022, former U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson, serving as an independent disciplinary officer jointly appointed by the NFL and the players’ union, ruled that Watson had violated the league’s personal conduct policy. She described his pattern of conduct as “more egregious than any before reviewed by the NFL” and called his behavior “predatory.”
The league appealed, seeking a longer suspension and a fine of at least $5 million. Before the appeal was decided, the NFL and the players’ union reached an agreement on August 18. Watson received an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine, with the additional $2 million in contributions from the NFL and the Browns forming the announced $7 million fund.