The NFL has fined one of its teams and rid them of a pick over an unreported payment.
While it’s been two years since Deshaun Watson actually played a game for the Houston Texans, they’re still paying fines for him as the league has announced a fine worth $175,000 and the loss of a fifth-round pick. The team has been accused of paying the quarterback $26,000 in 2020 which it failed to report and, as a result, will be forfeiting its fifth-round pick in 2023.
The Texans have insisted they’re innocent of any wrongdoing, at least knowingly, having cited an accounting error. They’ve also claimed that the payment did not give them any advantage as it pertains to the salary cap and was made to a local facility where the player trained while their own center was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The punishment isn’t all that grave in any case. A $175,000 fine is nothing to a franchise worth $4.7 billion and they’re going to have the most picks in the upcoming draft, with 12. The Texans have two first-round picks in the top 12, as well as five six-round picks.
It appears Watson continues to be a thorn in Houston’s side. He’s secured the most lucrative deal in the league since leaving for the Cleveland Browns but they’re still having to suffer sanctions because of him.
