J. J. Watt

Watt is the oldest of three brothers who all reached the NFL. His younger brothers, Derek Watt and T. J. Watt, both played professional football, with Derek serving as a fullback and T. J. playing outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2016, Watt began dating professional soccer player Kealia Ohai. The couple became engaged in 2019 and married on February 15, 2020, in the Bahamas. They welcomed their first son in October 2022 and their second son in June 2025. In May 2023, Watt and his wife became minority investors in English association football club Burnley F.C.

Watt experienced a cardiac scare in late September 2022 when he went into atrial fibrillation. After undergoing a scheduled medical procedure to shock his heart back into rhythm, he returned to the field to play for the Cardinals that same week.

Growing up in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Watt played competitive ice hockey from age four to 13, traveling to tournaments in Canada and Germany before switching his primary focus to football. At Pewaukee High School, he earned varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field, capturing the 2007 Wisconsin state title in the shot put.

Watt initially accepted a football scholarship to Central Michigan University to play tight end under head coach Butch Jones. After one season, he decided to give up his starting position and scholarship to walk on at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a defensive end. While enrolled in Madison, he worked as a pizza delivery driver before earning a scholarship and emerging as a standout defensive player. In 2010, Watt won the Lott Trophy, received first-team All-Big Ten honors, and was named a second-team All-American.

The Houston Texans selected Watt with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He quickly became the cornerstone of Houston's defense, earning his first AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2012 after recording 20.5 sacks, 16 passes defended, and 39 tackles for loss.

In 2014, Watt delivered one of the most versatile seasons by a defensive player in modern NFL history. In addition to posting 20.5 sacks, he lined up on offense to catch three touchdown passes, returned an interception 80 yards for a score, and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. His performance earned him unanimous first-team All-Pro honors, his second Defensive Player of the Year award, and runner-up in the NFL Most Valuable Player voting. He captured a third Defensive Player of the Year award following the 2015 season, joining Lawrence Taylor and Aaron Donald as the only players to win the honor three times.

Although significant injuries interrupted his 2016, 2017, and 2019 campaigns, Watt produced a strong comeback season in 2018 with 16 sacks and seven forced fumbles. Across ten seasons in Houston, he established franchise records in career sacks and forced fumbles before being granted his release following the 2020 season.

In March 2021, Watt signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals. After receiving permission from the family of former Cardinals player Marshall Goldberg to wear the retired number 99 jersey, Watt played in seven games during an injury-shortened first year in Arizona.

Watt announced in December 2022 that he would retire at the end of the regular season. In his final NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers on January 8, 2023, he recorded two sacks, concluding his 12-season professional career with 114.5 sacks, 586 tackles, and 27 forced fumbles.

Watt founded the Justin J. Watt Foundation in 2010 to provide after-school athletic opportunities and equipment to middle school children in communities across the country. The organization operates under the motto 'Dream Big, Work Hard' and organizes the annual J. J. Watt Charity Classic softball event to support youth athletics.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Watt launched an online relief fundraiser with a personal donation of $100,000. The campaign grew into one of the largest crowd-sourced humanitarian efforts in history, raising more than $37 million for recovery and home-building efforts across greater Houston. For his leadership, Watt was named the 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year and co-named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year alongside baseball player Jose Altuve.

Outside of football, Watt has made numerous television and entertainment appearances, including hosting Saturday Night Live in February 2020 and co-hosting the Fox competition series Ultimate Tag alongside his brothers Derek and T. J. Watt.

Following his retirement from active play, Watt joined CBS Sports as a studio analyst for The NFL Today before transitioning into live game commentary as an NFL game analyst for the network.