Cleveland Browns quarterback supports NFL expansion to Saudi Arabia

Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland Browns quarterback, advocated for the NFL to send games to Saudi Arabia in a tweet that many believe was paid for.

Watson stated in his tweet on Tuesday that he had just returned from a vacation to Saudi Arabia. He inexplicably identified six different Saudi soccer clubs and even tagged Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad in the post.

“I had a nice time visiting Saudi Arabia and learned a lot about the original Saudi culture and society,” Watson told CNN. “And I enjoyed watching Al-Nassar, Al-Al-Wali, Al-Hilal, and Al-Zaim, as well as hearing a lot about Al-Ahly fans’ singing and Al-Ittihad.

“A special thank you to His Royal Highness Prince @Saudi49er for his kindness and generosity. And, God willing, we’ll see football in Saudi Arabia shortly. May peace be with you! “@NFLARAB @ssc_sports.”

I had a nice time visiting Saudi Arabia and learned a lot about the original Saudi culture and society.

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…

— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) April 23, 2024

Commenters were quick to claim it was a paid tweet.

Was 230m fully guaranteed not enough? https://t.co/Z1hd2JIMtZ

— John 14:6 (@Believe_John146) April 24, 2024

Deshaun Watson getting paid by the Kingdom to watch Cristiano Ronaldo and promote it all. There’s a lot of levels of grossness in this one. https://t.co/XgShq2i4fx

— Mike Pendleton (@phat7deuce) April 23, 2024

the Suadis have an agenda of using sports to whitewash their image, and apparently, they just bought Deshaun Watson https://t.co/8vW6gohMdi

— Shamhat&Enkidu (@3xOscarWinner) April 24, 2024

I did not have Saudi Arabia recruiting Deshaun Watson for sportswashing on my 2024 bingo card. https://t.co/3zrFL2jkjl

— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) April 24, 2024

The assumption is not entirely unfounded. When Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo joined with Saudi club Al-Nassr, it was speculated that his annual pay might reach $200 million due to “commercial agreements.” This includes posting positive messages about the country on social media.