damarious randall-cleveland browns-cleveland cavaliers-golden state warriors Aug 26, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Green Bay Packers cornerback Damarious Randall (23) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
NBANFLBy Alex Putterman on

On Monday night, just after the Warriors-Cavaliers NBA Finals matchup was cemented, Cleveland Browns safety Damarious Randall tweeted that if the Cavs won the series, he would buy a jersey for everyone who retweeted him.

Two days and 874,000 retweets later, Randall seems to be back-tracking on his pledge. Here’s what the 25-year-old told reporters Wednesday after an offseason practice. Via ESPN:

“We’ll talk about this after the series is over,” he said, later adding he would do something for the fans regardless of the result.

Randall said he was joking about the jersey, although on Twitter he also tweeted “100 percent chance” about honoring the commitment.

“I definitely didn’t think the Cleveland fan base would go this crazy about it,” Randall said. “Obviously, it is a joke. Just to know how passionate this fan base is, it is really encouraging.”

Lame as it may seem for Randall to back away from his promise, especially given his tweet Tuesday that there was a “100% chance” he would follow through, he doesn’t really have a choice. As of about 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, Randall’s tweet has about 875,000 retweets and counting, meaning it would take $87.5 million to buy everyone a  $100 football jersey. Given that Randall has made just over $2 million in his career to this point (with another million or so due this coming season), he seems unlikely to cover the cost.

Ultimately we have to applaud Randall’s earnestness in promising everyone a jersey. He didn’t imagine his vow would become, as reported by ESPN, the most retweeted tweet between May 23 and 29. He just wanted to foster some Cleveland solidarity. And besides, given that the Cavaliers are massive underdogs in the NBA Finals, he’ll probably get away without owing anyone anything, making this whole ordeal nothing but a fun story.

Former Brown Joe Thomas, on the other hand, might be in some trouble.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

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