There will be no holdout from Houston Texans first-round pick Deshaun Watson this summer. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the former Clemson quarterback has inked his rookie deal with Houston, a deal that will pay him nearly $13.9 million over four seasons with an $8.2 million signing bonus.
Rookies signing their initial NFL deals have become more of a procedural thing since the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement instituted a wage scale for first-year players. Though, as we saw with Joey Bosa and the then San Diego Chargers last year, things can surely get in the way.
Houston exhausted a first-round pick in next year’s draft to move up in the first round in April for the reigning national champion quarterback.
Though, early indications are that Watson will not be competing for a starting job when training camp gets going later this summer. Instead, that role will presumably be filled by Tom Savage.
At the very least, Watson can now fully pay off that car he bought his mother after the Texans made him the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.