Deshaun Watson Teams With Saudi Arabia To Promote Football, Turns Off Comments

Just how much was Deshaun Watson paid by Saudi Arabia? That's the question NFL fans are asking this morning. 

In one of the more interesting PR moves from Deshaun Watson and the Saudi kingdom, the two sides teamed up for a love fest aimed at bringing American football to the Middle East. 

"I had a nice time visiting Saudi Arabia and learned a lot about the original Saudi culture and society," the Browns quarterback wrote on Twitter Tuesday night. "And I enjoyed watching Al-Nassar, Al-Al-Wali and Al-Hilal, Al-Zaim, and I heard a lot about the singing of Al-Ahly fans and Al-Ittihad. Special thanks to His Royal Highness Prince @Saudi49er for the hospitality and generosity And God willing, we will see the [football emoji] in Saudi Arabia soon. May peace be with you!"

Saudi49er is Abdullah Bin Mosaad, the Saudi prince who is described as a lover of "sport and money" and just happens to own soccer club Sheffield United. 

As you'd suspect based on his handle, the guy is a big 49ers fan. In a rare interview in his man cave earlier this year, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice framed jerseys can be seen on the Saudi prince's walls. 

"(W)e really enjoyed having you in Saudi, I wish you and your family health and happiness, I wish you the best of luck in every game you play except when you play against you know who!" Bin Mosaad replied to Watson. 

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Would the Saudis even consider a LIV-style takeover of the NFL? 

Last summer, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio threw around the idea of what would happen if the Saudis decided they wanted in on American football. 

"It all starts with whether the Saudis want in," Florio wrote. 

"If they do, and if they’re willing to invest unlimited cash into the effort, there will eventually be a number that causes those who own the NFL’s teams to tell Goodell to earn some more of his own annual compensation package by being the pin cushion for any and all criticism that would flow from the many millions, if not billions, to be earned by simply doing business with folks who have a ton of money and are willing to spend it on football. If they want to."

And you better believe there are players that would be more than willing to play for the Saudis. In November, The Athletic quoted one anonymous NFL player who said show him the money and it would be on. 

"Hell yeah! Because overseas they're gonna pay that money," the anonymous player said in an Athletic survey. "Think about a team in Saudi Arabia. I know that's far as f--k, but whatever. Think about Saudi Arabia and the soccer players. They're giving out billions of dollars, so hell yeah I'll play in Saudi Arabia."

How did the fans react to Deshaun Watson doing business with Saudi Arabia?

Not well. 

It's unclear when Watson turned off the comments to his tweet singing the praises of Saudi Arabia, but it wasn't before hundreds of people chimed in with comments like, "This man got a bag for this tweet, I'll put that on my life," and "Were you paid in rub and tugs?"

From there, it was a complete disaster for Watson, but, at this point in life, he might as well get paid to sing the praises of Saudi Arabia. 

And if Watson was looking for the perfect partner in not caring what the American public thinks of him, he found the perfect partner in Prince Mosaad.

In the rare, early 2024 interview, Watson's friend Mosaad had a message for the West. 

"I think that now Saudis are very confident of themselves," the very wealthy 49ers fan said. "We know that in this world there is a lot of hypocrisy, and you have to live with it. And if you put our record against any other country's record, when it comes to our history, we have never invaded any other country."

"Like many of the things we've done in the past, and some of the things, that we are criticised for in the West, we hope that we will still be criticised for that in 50 years because some of it is because we're different. And some people, they will not accept that you're different." 

"We always want to be better, but not for the sake of other people. We want to be better for the sake of ourselves." 

Does that include taking over the NFL? Time will tell. 

Should Saudi Arabia form a LIV for the NFL?

Email: joekinsey@gmail.com