J.J. Watt has revealed that he and Jason Kelce spoke to review the recently-retired NFL star’s ‘options’ as he navigates his retirement from the NFL.
Kelce, who announced his decision earlier this month after 13 seasons with the Eagles, reportedly met with TV executives in Las Vegas during Super Bowl week.
And as he begins his post-playing life, don’t be surprised if he follows Watt onto the screen – in addition to co-hosting the hit ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother Travis.
‘He’s an extremely talented man, he’s got a ton of different options on the table,’ Watt told Mail Sport in an interview this week.
‘We just spoke a couple of days ago about some of the options and things that he’s got going. So I have no doubts that the world will be seeing plenty more of him, which nobody will complain about.’
J.J. Watt spoke with Mail Sport about life after retiring, his investment in Burnley and more
Jason Kelce appeared on the Thursday Night Football broadcast for Bears-Panthers last year
The brothers’ ‘New Heights’ podcast is huge with football fans during the season
Watt, who was promoting his new ‘Great Taste, Less Filling’ campaign with Miller Lite, retired himself in 2022 after a stellar career – mostly spent with the Texans – but has done his best to stay busy since.
He joined CBS as an NFL analyst, invested into Premier League side Burnley last year with his wife, Kealia, and unsurprisingly has more time to spend with his family off the field.
Kelce, meanwhile, has started to get the ball rolling for his next chapter as well, with Front Office Sports reporting that he met with ESPN and Fox executives in February. Kelce also filled in on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football broadcast this season during his bye week, and CBS and NBC were reported to be interested in speaking with him as well.
And while the former Philly star previously spoke about expecting to miss the ‘dopamine’ that football provided him with, Watt – by his own telling – has found other ways to at least mimic that feeling.
‘I don’t think that you’ll ever truly be able to recreate the highs and the lows of participating in sport from an athlete perspective, just because of the amount of work, the amount of energy, the amount of adrenaline – and I mean winning and losing, everything that comes into it,’ he said.
Watt, his wife Kealia and their son Koa are seen at Burnley’s Turf Moor last weekend
Watt’s youngest brother, T.J. (center) is a star linebacker for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers
‘I don’t think you can recreate that outside of it. For me, having Burnley, being a part of the ownership group with Burnley in the Premier League, has been huge, because I get that high and low every week. Almost more nerve-wracking and more adrenaline because I have no control over it every week.
‘And then I get it from watching my brother [TJ on the Steelers], obviously, it’s so much fun to watch him play. And then try and find it wherever I can in my regular life. I still lift weights every day and I compete with myself. I play golf with my buddies and we suck but we’re still competitive. So it’s fun. And then obviously, I just pour all my energy into my son and my wife. So it’s been great.’
Kelce, as Watt explained, is in a somewhat similar position to the former defensive end, with his brother Travis still starring for the Chiefs.
Jason clearly got a rush from cheering on the Chiefs tight end this past postseason, and Watt thinks that connection to the game will help him in his next phase.
‘Yeah, I think [Jason’s] at an advantage… he’s gonna be able to watch his brother play, he’s gonna be able to go to more of his brothers games, and he’s gonna be able to live vicariously through him,’ Watt said.
Jason had a blast cheering on his brother Travis this offseason after the Eagles were eliminated
Watt joined CBS as an NFL analyst after finishing his impressive playing career in the NFL
Jason Kelce is seen with his wife, Kylie, and their three young children at the Pro Bowl
‘So that definitely helps still being attached to the game in that way. The other advice that I give is, spend time with your family and enjoy every second. Because you know, when we’re playing, we have so much time and energy dedicated towards the sport and towards every single week in the game.
‘So now we have so much more time to spend with our family, with our kids. And I think that he’s really going to enjoy that, he obviously looks like a great dad.
Watt would not delve into the specifics of his conversation with Kelce, aside from the pair discussing playing ice hockey together and potentially bringing back the Backyard Sports video game series, which they’ve spoken about publicly before.
For now, we’ll have to wait to find out Kelce’s next step.
Just don’t expect him to remain out of the limelight for too long.
‘He is a fan favorite for a reason,’ Watt said. ‘And I think there’s plenty of people wanting to see more of him out there.’
