Deshaun Watson Will Be Untouchable For Endorsements For ‘One Year Or More’

Once upon a time, Deshaun Watson was considered the future of the National Football League. Fresh off an NCAA championship with Clemson, the quarterback exceeded all expectations in his 2017 rookie year in the NFL with the Houston Texans, and his on-field performance just got better from there. A path seemed clear for Watson to rise to the top.

All of that has been derailed. Watson, 26, the subject of two dozen sexual-misconduct allegations, already missed the 2021 season because of legal entanglements and the horrific nature of the accusations. Now, after reaching legal settlements with 23 of his accusers, Watson faces a six-game suspension for the 2022 season.

As crass as it is to discuss Watson’s moneymaking future, the wheels of commerce continue to turn, with little regard for the disgusting behavior Watson has been accused of, as evidenced by the five-year, $230 million guaranteed contract he signed earlier this year with the Cleveland Browns. If the NFL and the players’ union let the suspension stand without an appeal, Watson will lose approximately $345,000 in salary, according to Spotrac, a website that tracks sports contracts.

While Watson’s on-field punishment is nearing resolution, there’s a separate game that NFL stars play—that of sponsorships, personal appearances and endorsements. On that front, it could be a while before Watson is rehabilitated enough to attract corporate interest, marketing experts tell Forbes.

“One year or more,” says sports attorney Ed Schauder. “Nobody will touch him unless he undertakes a massive campaign, and it has to be perceived as sincere.”

Sometimes, allegations of assault are a fatal blow, says Schauder, a lawyer at Florida-based Nason Yeager.

Watson’s Q Score Is Negative

In March 2021, Ashley Solis became the first of Watson’s accusers to speak publicly about his alleged assault during a private massage. It led to more than 20 other women filing lawsuits with similar accusations. Watson has denied the allegations, and two grand juries in Texas declined to bring criminal charges. Watson settled with 23 of the 24 accusers. In addition, the Texans, Watson’s former club, reached settlements with 30 women, six of whom never filed lawsuits against him. Details weren’t disclosed. The Texans traded Watson to the Browns in March.

With his off-field troubles this past year, Watson’s business opportunities went kablooey. In April 2021, Nike suspended its relationship with Watson. Headphone-maker Beats by Dre and Reliant Energy dropped him. Schauder, who negotiated endorsement and licensing deals featuring athletes like Tiger Woods, said the allegations against Watson could be viewed as a “capital offense from the endorsement standpoint.” However, he added that Watson’s “performance on the field, rehabilitation, public perception” would be factored in if companies explore hiring Watson.

Henry Schafer, a marketing evaluation executive at measurement company Q Scores, told Forbes that Watson’s likability metrics declined throughout 2021. Companies and professional leagues use Q Scores to measure an athlete’s marketability.

In 2020, before the allegations surfaced, Watson’s positive Q score averaged in the mid-teens, not unusual for a football player, and his negative score was around 10%. Afterward, however, Watson’s negative score jumped to 22%. Schafer suggested it would take Watson three years or more “to get (his) image back to where top advertisers are going to feel comfortable.”

A Future With A Challenger Brand?

Representatives at Athletes First, which represents Watson, and Nike didn’t return a request for comment to discuss Watson’s current endorsement status. Watson ranked 21st on Forbes’ 2022 highest-paid athletes list, despite making essentially no endorsement revenue in the tracking window. By comparison, Tom Brady ranked first among NFL players with $83.9 million in total earnings, including $52 million off the field. Patrick Mahomes was the league’s second-best pitchman with $20 million off the field, although the $8 million Watson was making annually off the field before the allegations emerged would still rank among the NFL’s top marketing figures.

Scott Rosner, director of the sports management program at Columbia University, said Watson would need to prove he’s remorseful before Nike should consider reactivating his deal. Watson can’t come across in public as cocky or not being a good teammate, either. But even if that works, Rosner said, Watson’s appeal still won’t “be for most brands.” Watson, says Rosner, will need to “convince the company that it’s worth the potential brand damage they could have.”

Watson’s endorsement future isn’t necessarily entirely ruined. The experts cited the cases of other athletes including boxer Mike Tyson, the late basketball star Kobe Bryant and former NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Woods suffered a public image hit in 2009 following an infidelity scandal. As a result, sponsors, including AT&T and tech company Accenture, parted ways with him. “No one wanted to touch him for a while,” says Tony Ponturo, the former vice president of global sports and entertainment marketing at Anheuser-Busch. Woods repaired his image, though, and has attracted new sponsors, including Hyundai and software firm Take-Two Interactive.

There are always challenger brands that seek a comeback story that could be a fit for Watson in the future, says Ponturo. But the quarterback is more likely to get endorsements locally in Cleveland first, he says.

National companies would still monitor Watson closely. Should he repair his image even slightly and the Browns perform well, firms could explore focus groups to test public perception, Ponturo says. At that point, a company seeking to “articulate second chance or rebuilding” could surface, he says.

Watson “would have to fit their situation somehow,” says Ponturo. “And he has to show that.”