Since retiring, former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt and his wife Kealia have been busy with other sports – they are current investors in the Burnley Football Club (F.C.).
Now, Watt has announced that he will join CBS Sports as a studio analyst for CBS Sports.
He will make his first appearance for the first week of the regular season on The NFL Today, according to CBS Sports President David Berson.
“I love the game too much to be away from it entirely. I’m very excited to be joining CBS Sports to contribute across all their NFL shows and platforms, including working alongside and learning from JB, Coach, Boomer, Phil, and Nate this fall,” Watt said in a statement. “Hopefully fans will enjoy the insights and knowledge I’ve gained over my 12 years in the NFL and if we’re lucky, we’ll share a few laughs along the way as well.”
But there was a chance Watt chose a different team when he was a free agent – he considered the Steelers during free agency in 2021. The older brother to outside linebacker T.J. Watt decided not to because the team was in the middle of working out a record-breaking contract extension with his little brother. A team with the three Watt brothers, including fullback Derek Watt, was certainly possible.
“They were on the list. It certainly would have been awesome to play with my brothers, but T.J. was also going through the contract situation there, so the last thing I wanted to do was come in and take any money away from his contract,” Watt said.
The now 34-year-old signed with the Arizona Cardinals, as he finished his career there the last two seasons, but dealt with multiple injuries that impacted his production.
Watt was a three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year and had 114 1/2 career sacks. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft by Houston and was the face of that defense for ten seasons. The former veteran defensive end will be a future NFL Hall of Famer and will also be inducted into the University of Wisconsin’s Hall of Fame this year. The 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year is the only player in league history to record multiple seasons with at least 20 sacks.
For the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and five-time Pro Bowler, it seems his post-retirement will keep him occupied, as this could just be the beginning.
