Deshaun Watson took a huge hit when the Texans traded all-world receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals. As if he didn’t already carry a serious offensive burden for his squad, the Texans are going to rely on Watson’s Jordanesque magic (according to college coach Dabo Swinney) even more.
To ease the trauma of that thought as well as life without DHop, the Texans awarded Watson a 4-year contract extension that averages $39 million a year with a $27 million signing bonus, according to agent David Mulugheta. It’s the second-largest quarterback deal ever in NFL history and moves him ahead of Russell Wilson who makes $35 million per.
Next monster QB deal is in: QB Deshaun Watson and Texans are finalizing their long-term agreement that now is expected to be completed today, sources tell ESPN.
Watson had two years remaining on his deal. Now he and Houston will be tied together for the next half decade, plus.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 5, 2020
Watson is another in a string of Black Quarterbacks who are getting paid in full to be franchise gunslingers. Who would have ever thought that both starting quarterbacks for the NFL’s Texas teams would be Black and among the highest-paid players in league history?
Patrick Mahomes’ $45 million annual salary will apply when his extension kicks in starting with the 2022 season and he’s the highest-paid QB in history. Including the next two seasons, which are part of his rookie contract, his average annual salary is $39.8 million.
Wilson’s four-year contract extension with Seattle, signed in April 2019, made him the league’s highest-paid player in terms of average annual salary at the time. Because $35 million of his $65 million signing bonus was deferred to 2020, Wilson is scheduled to make a league-high $53 million this year, an amount that includes his $18 million base salary.
Dak didn’t get his long-term deal yet but $31.4 million for this season is NOTHING to sneeze at. If he does his thing, he will be hauling in a ridiculous bag as well with some team if not the Cowboys.
Let’s not forget that newbies Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray go back to the negotiating table soon enough and they will shoot up this list as well. The highest-paid QB list is still littered with washed up and underachieving white quarterbacks, but brothers are more frequently being committed to and invested in as franchise leaders.
NFL owners might be afraid of Black superstars using their platform to fight social injustice, but these billionaires have no problem cutting phat checks for Black quarterbacks. I guess that’s progress.
Make of it what you want.
