NFL legend J.J. Watt hails 'unbelievable' Burnley for 10-straight clean sheets as Clarets' co-owner begins to sweat over Cincinnati Bengals bet

Former NFL star J.J. Watt retired from professional football in 2022, and has since become a co-owner with English football club Burnley FC. The former Houston Texans star has embraced the club like his own family, and has become enthralled with everything to do with the English game.

In a race for promotion to the Premier League in 2025, the Clarets are in a stellar run of form, and Watt was thrilled with their performances as they just set an English Championship record of 10 straight clean sheets.

Goalkeeper James Trafford’s performances have the 35-year-old Watt sweating, though.

This is thanks to a bet that Watt made with Trafford just after Christmas, in which he would reportedly have to come out of retirement to join the Cincinnati Bengals if the Clarets didn’t concede another goal through the remainder of the season. That has led to some incredible performances from the Burnley goalkeeper and the club have since entered the history books with their 10-match stretch.

Despite their impressive and historic clean sheet record, Burnley still lags behind Sheffield United and Leeds United in the race for promotion. The Clarets currently sit third on the table and are three points behind the Blades and five behind table toppers Leeds United, with the automatic promotion spots going to the teams in first and second.

If they keep their stellar form up, though, automatic promotion could be on the cards - while Watt could make an unexpected return to the NFL, if he were to honor the beet.

The Clarets produced a convincing 2-0 victory over Hull City to keep their unbeaten streak alive in a run that stretches back to Nov. 3. Since then, Burnley have only conceded three goals and to make matters worse for Watt, haven’t conceded a single goal since Watford put one past Trafford on Dec. 21.

They do have a tough run of fixtures ahead with Sheffield United, Cardiff City and an FA Cup tie on their calendar which could potentially end the run, but their spirits remain high at the moment.