It's not at all impossible to make Watson the enemy. However they're going to have to ditch Easterby to make that happen smoothly. Right now Easterby is the enemy for Houston fans. As soon as Watson holds out he will join Easterby on the platform. The important thing that everybody is forgetting in the heat of the moment is that Watson signed a huge deal last season. The Texans paid him a $28M bonus upfront in year 4 of his rookie deal to sign the extension. They guaranteed him another $48M over 2020-2022. A contract is a contract. Watson wanting out now is nice but that is going to matter absolutely zero to Texans fans next season. Getting rid of Easterby would make Watson the only villain on the stage and I expect that's what the Texans will do unless Cal McNair is an idiot.
They're still going to watch games, even if it's not in attendance. And as soon as they're allowed back in attendance, they'll attend games. This isn't something that will ultimately cost them money, especially since a big chunk of the money comes from the TV contracts anyway which will continue to be renewed because of the way the networks will now have to start upping their ante as they compete with streaming services.
And yet after two decades of being one of the worst run franchises in sports, they still rank in the top ten in attendance and are the top team in terms of revenue in the NBA by $32 million. If inept management hasn't taken down the Knicks, it won't take down the Texans. https://www.statista.com/statistics/193704/revenue-of-national-basketball-association-teams-in-2010/ http://www.espn.com/nba/attendance/_/year/2018
I know all this, trust me, I'm a season ticket holder. My point has never been about the financials behind the decision for the Texans, it's been about the optics. To your point, look how that's worked out for the Knicks for two decades...
If it doesn't hurt their wallet, do you really think these multi-billionaires care about optics? They don't.
You think because Houston fans love Watson their preference is to see him traded to another team rather than play for their team?
Right. Because of a pandemic that disallowed them to fill stadiums. They're still plenty profitable. Do you really think one unhappy player that wants to be traded is going to have some sort of cascading affect on the leagues revenue? Because that's what you implied.
No. I am saying I dont see a scenario where they blame Watson in this situation at all. They have seen superstars run out of town by Texans ownership before. Do they hate Deandre Hopkins? Do they hate Andre Johnson? no, the Houston fans love those guys.
No I didn't. I clearly said they have already lost tons of money and don't want another ugly situation with a well-liked black player.
The lost money has nothing to do with optics for the league. It has to do with the pandemic. This isn't really an ugly situation either. It's a player demanding a trade six months after he signed a contract because he doesn't like what management did. It's not the first time this has happened. If you can show me how Le'Veon Bell or Melvin Gordon's holdout may have affected team or league revenue, maybe I can buy into your argument. Otherwise you're putting two things together that have nothing to do with one another.
[/QUOTE] Wrong. It has almost everything to do with it. They are gonna want to make money again, after all. Why would you want to come out of a pandemic with a plan to alienate the fanbase (your biggest consumers)? just move on and trade the guy. Take your 4 1st round picks and build something that brings people out to see the product. Why get into a petty argument with a player instead when clearly the fans are on the player's side....
I know this wasn’t directed at me, but I think clarity around Watson would have a huge impact on free agent plans. First of all, salary cap considerations are night and day with Watson on board unless they restructure his deal for the future, which they can certainly try and do. but I think it would also impact what tier players they go after regardless of position. With a great QB like Watson, they may favor mid tier receivers and higher end defenders banking on Watson to elevate the receiver play. Or could be the opposite and doubling down on offensive help to surround the QB and let the defense catch up on the other hand, if it’s a rookie QB or Darnold, they may have more cap space to spend on free agents and may favor offense more so to maximize the QB performance. I don’t know what JDs plan is, other than draft and develop, but I’d be a bit surprised if he gives up multiple firsts plus more assets
