Why JJ Watt swapped ‘one seat’ at NFL game for Burnley board – with American football icon daring to dream of emulating Leicester’s Premier League title triumph

After taking the decision to hang up his cleats, Watt was eager to remain involved with sport in some capacity. It would have been easy for him to stick with what he knows, having established a reputation as an all-time great in the world of gridiron.

Even his wealth would not make much of an impact in NFL circles, though, with the decision taken to step well outside of a professional comfort zone and join the ranks at Burnley – with quite the adventure being taken in there.

Watt has told BBC Sport: "You look at an American football club, right now they're all valued at billions and billions of dollars. You take my amount of money and put it into that and congratulations, you have one seat at a game, not at the board table, not at anything. You come over here and the valuations are different and there's more opportunity.

“I saw an opportunity to get involved at a level I wanted to be involved at, be in the board meetings, learn and grow, while also injecting something, bringing something to the club in terms of global notoriety, eyeballs to the game etc.”

Watt has experienced the highs and lows of promotion and relegation into and out of the Premier League during his association with the Clarets. It is that rollercoaster of emotions – which does not exist in American sport – that helped to lure him towards Turf Moor.

He added, having been joined on his surprising venture by former USWNT star wife Kealia: “When you know there is nothing bad that can happen if you finish last, it kind of dilutes the product. When there is a literal consequence to winning and losing it makes a sport as close to the truest and most pure form that you can have.

“I'll never forget the stat on our first day [back] in the Premier League, when we played Manchester City and their three defenders cost more than the entire wage bill in the history of our club, since 1882. That doesn't happen in the NFL.

“Am I naive enough to think we can win the Premier League next year if we go up? No, I understand how all this works. Do we all dream of a Leicester-style run one day? Absolutely, but it's more in the little things, trying to make your club better on a day-by-day basis.”

Burnley are back in the hunt for another promotion this season, with the exploits of goalkeeper James Trafford – who has been breaking clean sheet records – having Watt worried at one stage that he would be forced back into the NFL ranks after making what was intended to be a light-hearted bet.