T.J. Watt turns 30 years old in October. With seven seasons already under his belt, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he intends to play. Even he doesn’t know just yet, something that he recently acknowledged. There is very little he hasn’t yet accomplished individually, though team goals continue to elude him.
Those same goals escaped big brother J.J. Watt’s grasp as well, and T.J. said he played longer than planned. “Things happened and he ended up playing longer” than he anticipated, he said of his older brother, retiring at 33. J.J. played 12 seasons, though—will Watt? Or will he hang it up early?
“I’m on that line of thinking as well, because players now, they want to go out on top”, former Steelers executive Doug Whaley said of Watt on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. “They don’t want to be the guy that’s hanging around, hanging around, and then he’s just a [designated pass rusher]. Like, they only put him on special pass-rush situations, and then these young offensive tackles are starting hemming him up and yacking him up and he’s like, ‘Wait a minute’”.
J.J. Watt was never reduced to a situational pass rusher, logging 815 snaps his final season with 12.5 sacks. But others, like former Steelers OLB James Harrison, have found themselves in that position at the end of their careers. You might not think that could happen to Watt, but Harrison was a Defensive Player of the Year, too.
“He doesn’t want to go out like that, in my opinion”, Whaley said of Watt. “I could see that not only with T.J. but with a lot more players, because the thing is, the money is so good now. If you get that second contract, and if you get that third contract, that’s probably three generations that you’ve provided for. And why are you gonna beat up your body like this? It’s time to move on”.
They brought up the Kelce brothers and their podcast venture, many current and former players profiting in that arena. Cameron Heyward, a teammate of Watt, has his own podcast. Chris And Kyle Long, Bryant McFadden and Patrick Peterson, and Maxx Crosby are others with podcasts making side money. The Watt brothers could easily make money that way.
Though T.J. is not a big fan of such things, he already teamed up with his brothers for a game show. But it’s not like that family is hurting for money, if we’re being honest. J.J. Watt earned just under $130 million during his career. T.J. Watt will clear that mark, at least provided he plays out his current contract through 2025. And Derek Watt also earned over $12 million over the course of his career.
Suffice it to say that the Watt brothers have made enough to support their families, and their families’ families. Perhaps Derek may want to host a podcast and make his brothers appear, but money won’t be a motivating factor for T.J. and J.J.
The real question for T.J. Watt is how badly he wants to win and how long it takes to get there. Or, alternatively, how long it takes for him to conclude that he never will. He knows the specter of playoff failure looms over his head as the one thing left for him to achieve. But J.J. retired without reaching the mountaintop. The Watts have no championship trophies in their display case, and T.J. is the last hope.
