JJ Watt at Burnley: Advice from Ryan Reynolds & talking transfers with wife Kealia – NFL legend explains why he is ‘all in’ at Turf Moor

The American football legend is now involved in a different kind of ball game, with the decision taken – alongside his former USWNT star partner Kealia – to invest in Burnley back in May 2023. Watt has always been a soccer fan, but he is now hands-on at Turf Moor and can regularly be spotted at Premier League games.

Watt has told the Men in Blazers podcast of how committed he is to an ambitious project in Lancashire – with the Clarets taking over his life: “It is equal parts exciting and terrifying. I have no control over anything that happens once the match kicks off. When I was playing, I could do something about it – make a sack, get an interception, I could do something to affect the game. Now, I either sit in the executive box or on my couch watching and I’m just hoping. I have to say it has truly been an unbelievable experience. I am so deeply and passionately in on this. I am all in and I love it. My wife is probably sick of me talking about it – we talk tactics all day, we talk the line up, we talk what we need to do at the break and in the transfer window. We are so deep into this thing and we love it so much. It fills that competitive void. When I retired, I knew that there was going to be this adrenalin rush that was gone. This fills that and it’s so much fun.”

Watt is not the only celebrity investor in British football, with seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady now involved with Birmingham City while Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are calling the shots at Wrexham. Asked about the advice he received from the Hollywood actors in North Wales before getting involved with Burnley, Watt added: “The most important thing always comes back to knowing and understanding the fabric of the town and the history and the traditions, and respecting and honouring that. That’s what is most important. These clubs have been here long, long before we have and will be here long, long after we go. It’s just a matter of doing right by all those people. The most surprising thing, they tried to tell me ahead of time how anxious and anxiety-filled, and you’re going to be all in. I’m an athlete so I was like ‘Yeah, guys I know, I do this for a living!’ But you don’t know because you don’t realise how you can’t control it. Yes, you do have an investment on the line and not only are you emotionally and passionately invested, but you have also got your literal money on the line.”

Burnley secured promotion back into the Premier League last season, as Vincent Kompany led them to the Championship title, but the 2023-24 campaign has been a little tougher, with Watt seeing the Clarets stuck inside the top-flight relegation zone heading towards the turn of another calendar year.