J.J. Watt is the elder sibling of the family. His two younger brothers, Derek and T.J., are closer in age. While the oldest brother has, at least so far, proven to be the biggest and baddest athlete in the family, there at least one thing he envies of his younger siblings: the time spent together in a professional setting.
Derek is only about two years older than T.J. They grew up closer together, and got the chance to play together on the same teams growing up. Now Derek is joining his younger brother in the National Football League after signing a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“J.J., he’s very happy for us because we get this opportunity”, Watt told reporters earlier this week. “He’s always said that he’s envious of T.J. and I, we’ve had the chance to play together in high school, college and now the NFL. He knows how special that really is. He never had that opportunity. I kept missing him by a year”.
“He’s extremely happy for us”, he went on. “He’s jealous of the fact that we get to play together”.
The younger Watt brothers, of course, also join the elder Edmunds brothers on the Steelers’ roster. Trey Edmunds and Terrell Edmunds are another set of siblings on the 53-man roster, who also played together some in college, while youngest brother Tremaine Edmunds is with the Buffalo Bills.
Another major advantage for T.J. over J.J. is that, now that Derek will be in the same city, the youngest brother clearly has the inside track at becoming the established favorite uncle of Logan, Derek’s son.
“T.J. definitely will have the upper hand now”, the fullback acknowledged. “If he somehow botches this and doesn’t come out on top as favorite uncle, that is 100% on him. He will for sure have more access and more opportunities to be around Logan and spoil him as much as he can”.
And by this time next year, he should have plenty of money to use to spoil his nephew. Or at least at some point next year. The Steelers should be expected to sign him to a long-term contract next offseason, and prior to that, they will have already picked up his fifth-year option, which will give him a healthy raise.
It is, frankly, quite hard to have a trio of siblings share equal success. Typically, perhaps two of them will reach the height of their profession. J.J. and T.J. were first-round picks. Terrell and Tremaine were first-round picks. Derek and Trey? Not so much.
Whatever comes, I hope that the Watt brothers get a chance to share the field together for some time. Who knows, perhaps a couple of years from now, J.J. will see fit to finish up his career in Pittsburgh with his brothers, and make it a family affair. Just in case anybody is wondering, he is under contract through 2021—and is owed $31 million in base salary between now and then, though with no dead money.
