J.J. Watt has had quite a year since retiring from the NFL as an Arizona Cardinal last season
J.J. Watt is a year removed from retirement from the NFL, and although he misses a lot about playing football, January 2024 finds Watt and his family in a happy place.
It's been a year of fun for the former Arizona Cardinals defensive end that has included a lot of dad time with his young son, Koa, being the starter for last year's Pat's Run, traveling both domestically and abroad, being inducted into the Houston Texans' Ring of Honor, spending the holidays with family in Watt's native Wisconsin and the experience and roller coaster ride of emotions that comes with part ownership of a Premier League soccer club, Burnley FC.
"It's been really, really good. Obviously I miss, you know, teammates, locker room, camaraderie, game day, adrenaline, things like that. But overall for mind and body, it has been fantastic," Watt told The Arizona Republic during a video interview Tuesday morning.
There's a familiar face to Phoenix-area sports fans on boxes of Wheaties now at local grocery stores. It's photos of Watt, with his brothers T.J. and Derek, on the iconic orange cereal box that has featured athletes and sports teams on its front, back and sides for 90 years.
Watt is still in awe of being on the Wheaties box.
"I grew up and I watched Mighty Ducks. They talked about the Wheaties box and when they were on the Wheaties box. I mean, we all know the iconic Wheaties boxes growing up, so that was a really cool experience for me," Watt said. "And especially to share it with T.J. and Derek, and T.J. all on the back cover of it, it's really wild. I mean, there's so many things in this world that are still 'pinch-me' moments, no matter how old I get no matter how many things we do. And it was certainly very cool."
Burnley is near the bottom of the Premier League standings, and could be relegated to the second division of English soccer if it doesn't start putting together wins soon. Watt is up predawn early on weekends watching his team, and said he has long been a fan of what is widely considered the best soccer league in the world.
The Watts, J.J. and wife Kealia, plan on going to England a few more times to see Burnley this season, J.J. said.
"I'm extremely passionate about it, extremely invested in it. And I love every single second of it. I mean, even though we're going through a difficult stretch, I love every single game, I love every conversation, I love all the meetings, I love everything that we do with it," Watt said. "It's vastly different than being a player, and I'm really enjoying it.
"Towards the back end of my career, I knew that this was something that I was going to want to get involved in, in some capacity. As a player, you have that competitive itch scratched all the time, you get to play in practices, you get to play in games, and you're always doing something competitive. And I knew that that was going to go away once I retired. And I think ownership is a phenomenal opportunity to still get some of that."
Being a fan and owner is much tougher emotionally than taking part in the actual competition, Watt said.
"You're sitting there in the stands watching, and all you can do is watch and hope. And it's far more nerve-wracking because you have no control. If the game is starting to get a little sideways, and I'm playing, I'll go out there and I'll be like, 'I'll make a play. I'll figure this out,'" he said. "But when you're sitting in the stands, you're just sitting there hoping. It's a very, very different experience."
Watt's good friend from his Cardinals days, tight end Zach Ertz, is expected to be officially signed to the Detroit Lions' practice squad. Ertz was released by the Cardinals earlier this season as he worked his way back from injury, and now has a chance to be part of the Lions' roster for the NFC Championship game Sunday.
The Watts and Ertzes have sons close in age, and Ertz had been in the area continuing to work out since his release from the Cardinals.
"I'm very happy for him, obviously playing in the NFC Championship game coming up, an opportunity for him to go out there and potentially add something else to his already illustrious career. Already has a Super Bowl ring," Watt said of Ertz. "So it's a great opportunity for him and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it goes for him this weekend. And I know he's been working hard. I mean, I see him all the time down here (in the Phoenix area). We hang out all the time. So he's stayed in very good shape."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: J.J. Watt 'extremely invested' as Premier League team owner
