T.J. Watt: Steelers defensive superstar

28:57What do you think she taught you? That's a good question, man. My mom is so dedicated to, like I said, working up from her company. And she's so, she's very strict, very stern. She says what she wants. Like how so? Like, very, like, are you saying strict? Like, we would have to do book reports in the summers. she's very defensive of her family people don't mess with Connie Watt they know that anybody that knows her knows that she's very proud of her family and what she's built and she should be she's a damn good mom and she's a damn good grandma and she mentioned she remembers getting up at 4 30 5 a.m.

29:39with you some flashcards yeah yeah so like I think it was like probably like sixth or seventh grade um i was a terrible student i'm worried i'll admit that i'm a terrible student i had like a exam on all the bones in the body or something the next day and i freaking i couldn't get it for the life of me so she's like tj we're gonna wake up at 4 30 tomorrow morning like we're gonna go over all these flash cards we can and we're gonna get it and i think i think i ended up passing but it's just like one of those things where she wasn't gonna let me fail like my parents whether they knew I was going to be great at football or whatever they just they wanted to give me as much of an opportunity to be successful in whatever it was that I chose to do and I don't think they could have lived with not giving it everything they possibly could and I think that's kind of where that came from.

30:28What do you think your dad taught you? Working hard for sure I think my dad so they both kind of had their own areas right like mom was more academic dad was more yes athletic yes yeah yes my my dad so here's a little story about my dad like to get a picture um very hard on us athletically um that's what's an example of how he was hardest yeah so i mean i'll just give you an example when we were young like you do you know what presidential physical fitness testing is for sure like in school um like flexed arm hang reach and hold, mile run, shuttle run, stuff like that. We would, in the summers, and like, I think we, I don't even know if we still have the school records or what, but like in the summers we would go up to the school and we'd run a mile, like this was like once a week or a couple times a week, we would, every night before dinner we'd have to do like 30 pull-ups, sit-ups, stuff like that, just to instill working hard.

31:30and I always tell the story too of at next level you see that glass partition there right like the waiting room my dad used to always come and watch in the waiting room and there used to be a dumbbell rack right in front of him this was when I was first going there seventh or eighth grade and I would go to grab like 30s you know like first set and the next set I'd go to grab the 30s again and he'd be like and he'd be like like go up like we don't do the same we don't do the same thing both times like you're here to get better so like and then you get home and he'd be like I'm paying for you to do this like you don't if you don't want to do it don't do it but I'm paying for you to do it if you want to be successful this is x y and z y you have to do it and things like that rubbed off on me quickly I mean Derek and JJ when they were in high school they went to morning lifting.

32:23So you'd go to school at six in the morning before school started and you'd work out with the football team. But I wasn't old enough to do that when I was in seventh grade and it was only high schoolers. So I asked my parents if we could go to Snap Fitness when Derek would go work out at the high school. So for, I don't know how long it lasts. I think it was probably two or three weeks, but my parents would wake up with me at 5 30 in the morning. We'd go over to Snap Fitness at six. I'd work out with them and come back home, eat breakfast and go to school. It was pretty cool. It wasn't, I was never told no if I wanted to work hard.

32:55It was just one of those things where I was always trying to instill working, working, working. What did the chore chart entail? Cutting the lawn. So like we would split the lawn into thirds to make sense for obviously Derek, JD and me and we would fight over who cut the side of the house because the side of the house was the shortest or like the shortest amount and one day Derek and I, it was just Derek and I, we were home. J.D. was already off of college. Our neighbor, we didn't like him. He threatened to take our dog's voice box out because we had a beagle at the time. We barked a lot. But one day we're out there mowing the lawn and he's like, oh, I'll mow the side of your house for you.

33:36Like, no problem. Like, oh, we're turning the page. Like, this guy's awesome. Like, yeah, no problem. He goes out there and like 10 minutes in, we hear like a big bang, bang bang. And he's, he's like, he's out there looking underneath his, underneath his lawnmower. Well, Derek and I didn't pick up the sticks. So he like broke his lawnmower. And it was like the one time we could have impressed a neighbor. And from that point on, we were, we never talked to him again. And we were stuck cutting the full side of the yard. What was the deal with the two dinners daily? Yeah, five o 'clock and then eight o 'clock.

34:09We wake up to a five egg omelet every morning. I mean, you always have a full breakfast, either omelet or pancakes or muffins or something fresh. And then they would send us to school with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, one you'd eat before lunch, one you'd eat after lunch. And then you would have two lunches. You'd pay for two school lunches. Yeah, double lunch at school, yeah. Which I didn't even know that was a thing. Yeah, double lunch. So yeah, chicken patty, you just get two of them, obviously. and then after school you come home at like from next level or track practice and you'd eat dinner at five and that'd be like a spaghetti with garlic bread or something and then at like what seven thirty or eight o 'clock my dad would make like salami sandwiches or whether it's that or he my dad always wanted to recreate things so if like I went to noodles and company I love the Japanese pan noodles he'd be like I can make the Japanese pan noodles so then like that'd be like something later in the night.

35:07Never the same, but I give him a lot of credit. You know, like we were into the chicken bacon ranch at Subway. He thought he could make it exactly the same. It never quite hit the same. Give context to their insane travel schedule, your parents, as you got later in schooling. It got crazy. It really did because I was a junior and senior when J.J. was really started to blow up. So what was that 20? Yeah, 2011 2012. They told me yesterday on the phone that you kind of like genuinely junior and senior year kind of felt the band. And yeah, it really it genuinely was difficult to deal with at the time.

35:45And I don't think. I knew how to handle those emotions at the time. And I think how did it come out in you? It's just I think I suppressed it. I really do. And I think I was just kept being left with my grandpa or I was It's just kind of like, I felt like I was left with whoever was in town to be able to watch me. And I don't, now that I'm old enough to understand why, it makes a lot more sense to me. And I never really resented my parents for it, but it was definitely a tough time in my life. How do you think at the time it affected you? It made me resent my brother in a weird way. Yeah, which I never really wanted to feel.

36:26and I would use it as a crutch at times where I'd say, oh, I'm not JJ or I'm not Derek, you know what I mean? And that obviously isn't the way to handle it either. But the older I get, the more I can reflect on it and understand my parents' side of it. And if they weren't trained on how to be an NFL parent of a defensive player of the year and and go to Pro Bowls in Hawaii and do all these amazing things. And they were trying to navigate those waters too, so I don't hold that against them. But it was definitely a tough part of my life where it felt like I would come home and there wouldn't be anyone home or there would just be me and my grandpa.

37:09And I loved time with my grandpa, but it just wasn't. He was biggest fan. Yeah, he was, but it just wasn't the family dynamic that I grew up knowing. Even if it was for unhealthy reasons, to what extent do you think that played into kind of underlying additional drive that you developed? Definitely. I mean, I think I still deal this day of wanting attention of some sort in wanting to be as successful as possible to feel that. and not saying that you have to do that to feel love from my parents. That's not the case, but it definitely drove me to want to feel, to want to be an NFL player, to want to have my parents want to come and watch me play and be a part of what my story has in store.

37:58So you finally make the AAA team in hockey. Yeah, and they pulled the rug out from under me. What happened? I loved hockey. I really did. I finally... Your first love for maybe the sport you most loved. I loved hockey. I still to this day love hockey. You want to play in possibly Beardley when you're tired? I think Beardley would be the most fun to do after I'm done playing. But yeah, I finally made AAA. And like I said before, it was just so, it was just such a tough sport to have three boys to, especially at that, because you're at different levels and you're getting pulled different directions and by the time I made, I even got like my breezers.

38:37I think I got the jersey and everything. You had to give the jersey. And then the kid came and knocked on the freaking door and it was like, I'm like, I have to hand over my breezers and my jersey to this kid. And I'm just like, whatever, man. That was like one of those things where I'm really jealous that Jada and Derek got to experience AAA hockey and Jada got to travel to Germany with my grandpa, of my dad and have those stories and um I felt shorted in that aspect but I I have been told that that specifically uh still gets to you a little bit to this day that I didn't get to do that yeah because it's like I felt like I was pretty damn good at hockey and obviously J.J.

39:16and Derek were really good too but you think you get a gun pro in hockey I will never know and That's part of it. But hindsight, again, it is a tough, it's an expensive sport. It's tough. And I mean, it worked out well, so I can't be too upset. What do you remember from your parents living with you and Derek for a month at Madison? Honestly, I haven't thought about that in a long time. That's another example of my parents and just the people that they are and the parents that they are. is I had my knee surgery. Derek had his foot surgery around the same time. So they moved into the hotel on campus and they would drive us to and from class, to and from PT appointments to everything.

39:59And back to the food thing is I just remember I'd leave class, come out, the car would pull up, I'd sit in the back and there'd be a deli sandwich there and a drink already. It's like just so thoughtful, always like putting us first and trying to do everything they possibly can to help us because other other kids don't have that opportunity to have their parents just come up. And that's thanks to JJ again for allowing my parents to retire when they did so they could help us in that moment. But to be able to have your parents to lean on at a time where I was in a very low point of my life going through surgeries and position changes and all that to be able to have that normalcy and have family dinners even if it was in a hotel room was special.

40:42So your mom cried yesterday when she was talking to me on the phone about that period you went through then. Yeah. I mean, you don't play a snap for like three years. Take me back to kind of that time and what's going through your head. Yeah. So my freshman year at Wisconsin was great. I was a tight end. I was scout team. I had scout team player of the week a lot. We had a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. And I thought it was important for me to go up against other 20, 22-year-old grown men in football. And I thought it was important for me to redshirt that year and get my confidence. And then December came around in bowl prep.

41:29You do a lot of interleague stuff where it's against your own guys. And we're doing like a drill. And I dislocated my kneecap. and it was just one of those things where it swelled up at the time and they just said, just let it rest and you can come back in the spring and you'll be fine. Came back in the spring and like the second or third practice had happened to my left knee. So I was like, okay, well, I rehabbed my right. It worked. So now it was my left. So let's just rehab that. I'll come back in the fall. Came back in the fall and it happened again to my right like two practices in. So then I was like, all right, I'm not going to continue to do this.

42:05Clearly something's wrong. So that's where, again, thanks to JJ down in Houston, Walt Lowe, the team doctor, was able to get me in and get surgery on my knee. And that was when they were playing LSU in the bowl game, Wisconsin. So I got surgery that week and was a dumbass and tried to be cool and go to the pep rally and all this stuff, and three days after surgery and I'm on pain meds and I'm trying to walk on it, like stupid. and it took me like a lot longer to recover the first time around it's like four or five months and then I came back in spring ball and that happened to my left knee it's like same exact thing so it's like all right I'm not wasting any more time fly back down get the surgery and that was cool too because I got to spend quality time with my brother who I admired and didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with in his adulthood yet and to be able to see the house and every time I go to visit JJ I take a picture and video of his house because he's been in different houses he's been like eight different houses but like because he always lives in the coolest houses and I always use his motivation like I probably have like six videos on my phone just like in the outside of his house and it's just like wow like hard work works like you're doing so great for yourself and like I see the blueprint I see everything behind like I know why you have this great stuff.

43:29And I wanted to. And it was great to be able to spend that time with him. And then came back up after having the surgery, was way more smart about it. Had a purpose. I said, this is the last time that I'm going to go through this surgery. And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But I'm going to put all my chips in the middle of the table and give it everything I have. And I think I only took like three months, maybe four months tops to recover from it. But you thought if it didn't work that was probably it. Yeah. What was the like worst of the headspace you were in? So I did the first time and I was like I was very distraught um called my dad told him everything and then when I got the surgery I was back on the high.

44:14I thought it was going to be great. I was going to go into spring ball going to kill it as a tight end. I had all these great plans and then he'll tell you I called him like a second or third practice like in the middle of practice. Like he knew exactly what happened because he knew what time our practice was and it was like half hour, hour into practice. Just kind of broke down and I was like, I have no idea why this keeps happening to me. I feel like I've done everything right. I've trained hard. I want it. I'm trying to be as proactive as possible with Brad and get my body right. I'm studying the playbook.

44:50I feel like I have potential to do some damage on this team, like be an asset. And this keeps happening to me. And he's just like, I don't have the answer for you, son. Like, I just want you to know we're fully support you and we want what's best for you and you take the lead. And I said, well, I want to get surgery one more time on this side and then we'll go from there. And that's sort of like, I watched Derrick Rose videos, I watched Adrian Peterson videos in my dorm room or my apartment. All those are huge. And I like how so. I think that's why it's important to do stuff like this, too, is to, like, you never know what someone's going through or where someone can find motivation.

45:31And to be able to see guys that went through knee, severe knee injuries and were able to come back and play at a high level, like, at the time, that's all I needed to see. I needed to see someone go through it and do it, come out on the other side. And that was very important for me and just gave me the energy to be able to get up off the couch and start rehabbing and stop being so pitiful towards myself. Were you depressed at the time? Yeah, because I couldn't go out. My buddies would want to go out, like Mifflin, the big party. I couldn't do that. I couldn't be a college kid at the time, which I think looking back was good for me because I think my freshman year, I kind of lived up college a little too much.

46:11I don't think I was as focused as I should have been. Which is funny because you read the articles on you and it's all like, oh, it doesn't go out. I had fun, but I mean, I... Looking back, you feel like you had a little more fun than you probably. Yeah, but I was 18, you know what I mean, at the time. And I think that really, that pushing all the chips into the center of the table really centered me and said, all right, I'm done, like, messing around. Like, I'm going to do everything that I possibly can to make it to the NFL. And, I mean, I can show you in my notebook upstairs. What did you write down?

46:46I'm going to make it to the NFL. I think it was, like, 2016 or whatever. Like, I will be in the NFL. And, like, I think the self-belief as I grew and changed positions and was like I have two brothers that grew up the same way that I did, ate the same meals that I did, are willing to share all their secrets with me about how to be successful. Like, why can't I do it? And that's when things switched. I stopped resenting my brother. I was like I'm going to use him as much as I possibly can. And I moved in with Derek. That was awesome to be able to live with him for a year in college because we butted heads so much.

47:24But to be able to live with him. Didn't you guys used to beat the crap out of each other? We used to beat the crap out of each other over video games, anything. And that still comes out now from time to time. But living together gives you a whole new perspective and appreciation for your brother. It was pretty cool. You talked about JJ and stopping, resenting him. Tell about the time you guys watched film together, which I think was at least up until that point was the only time that never happened. Yeah, so 2016 I switched positions, and then I think he probably, I can't remember what year he came up, but he came up and we watched film together for the first time, which was really cool.

48:07I think he had his back injury at the time, so he wasn't down in Houston. He was up here rehabbing, and he came up to Madison and just wanted to rent a film or get a film room and we just watched film together and I was the coolest thing in the world. Like he wants to watch film with me, like let's go. Like I've only watched him on YouTube because I don't have access to the NFL stuff, you know what I mean? So to be able to sit down with him, have him pick apart my game and help me out, I mean, you've seen what it's done for me. It's been incredible. I think the first, like it's crazy to watch an NFL guy break down film when you haven't been in that space.

48:44Because in college, you're kind of just playing. You don't have time to break down every little stance, whether it's run, pass, what plays could be coming. And I just remember, we turn out one play, and he's like, dude, you're a yard and a half off the line of scrimmage. What are you doing? I'm like, I don't know. Is this where I line up? He's like, that yard and a half could be a half a second or a quarter second. Take the whole ball. So then that's one of those things that stuck with me ever since and even today like i'm known for having like one of the credit card alignment like the tightest alignment on the football in the nfl because of that like every little thing matters and once i started looking at college like an nfl player it took my games to the next level it's kind of crazy that you had that kind of reaction to having the opportunity to watch film with him because i'm thinking as you're telling it like this is your brother i would think People all the time are like, oh, you watch film all the time?

49:40I'm like, no. We are normal people, too. When there was enough of an age gap. Yes, six years. So we're like, yeah, like Jizz, he's a goofy guy. He's just, we're all goofballs. And I just remember even when he was like 17, 18, and he would always just try to cheer us up and play funny songs in his car. And we'd just have a blast, man. He's so supportive of us. He really is. And like I said, he paved the way for us and for him to be able to continue to want success for us has been awesome. And now I understand multiple people mentioned to me you're like living on your iPad after a game. Yeah. Like almost instantly.

50:21Too much, yeah. And explain what you're doing. I'm obsessed with just trying to figure out how to be better and find ways of, okay, I did this or I tried this. Why did it work or why didn't it work? And there's always going to be a constant chase for greatness and being the best that I can possibly be and knowing that I have a finite amount of time to play football and to do what I love for a living and to do it at a high level. So why not take everything that I possibly can to maximize that opportunity? And the iPad is one of those things that I'm trying to find, I mean, run past formational things or just pass-first moves that I'm trying that don't necessarily work, but at least I'm always trying to evolve.

51:07If you come and watch us in training camp, I don't win a lot of reps, but I'm trying a lot of new stuff to see what works. Like a spin move or like a – Daniil Hunter has this really cool move he plays for the Texans now where it's like a chop and like a pull-through, but he's like the only guy that I've seen that can possibly get this move done. and we've just been toying with it for like two years trying to do it. And I kind of have it down in practice, but the footwork is a little different. But for him, it works, and it's his great move. But I'm trying to take it from him or at least implement it into my own game.

51:42But it's one of those things that is a lot tougher to do than actually just see on film. Like, oh, he made that look so easy. How do I do it? So then when you're watching the film, what specifically will you dissect and look for? Where is the wasted movement? you know like does my pass rush in the first quarter look like it does in the fourth quarter and why doesn't it like how much of a factor does fatigue play into it am I getting lazy or is it just because I'm tired or why are things working out in the fourth quarter that weren't in the first quarter and I think a lot of it is pass rush is like a game of chess and and I've watched the iPad in game two because if I do this his reaction is this so now if I do this and he still does that it's going to be a win and it's just constantly going back and forth battle of like trying to figure out what he's going to do but also realizing he's a person too and he's also has that internal battle money i remember when i was talking to jj he told me after he signed his hundred million dollar deal he right he went on google and uh he googled what do what what do rich people buy or something like that.

52:53So you're making, you know, a couple million bucks a year, and then all of a sudden you get your similar size deal. Like, how does that change things? You hope it doesn't, honestly. It changes things in the sense that financial freedom is to do whatever we want and to be able to have nice things or to take great vacations. But you don't wanted to define who you overpower who the person comes back to having great

53:32frugal. JJ laughs at us all I mean, like in perspective a hard time. J. J. Is alwa like live it up a little b and I'm learning to indulge more and spend a little bit more for vacations and things that are meaningful to me because that's what we work so hard for. But it's hard to break out of that where it's like they want how much for a private chef? Like this is ridiculous. Like I would rather not and it's like it's hard to find that balance. What are things that he gets on you for? This was Just two years ago, we went on a trip for bye week, and we just had a good game against the Ravens. Had like two sacks or whatever, and then we flew down to Palm Beach for vacation for the rest of the bye week.

54:22And we took Southwest, and I got stuck in the middle seat. Jade is like, dude, what are you doing? He's like, you just sacked Lamar Jackson twice yesterday, and now you're sitting in like 34B. He's like, spend the money, bro. like what else are you like what are you waiting for and like those are moments where they okay like I guess you're kind of right there it doesn't make sense like especially timing wise it's all about how you spend your time and things like that but I mean there we really don't have I don't have passion for cars I don't we have a nice house like we don't need much else it's kind of hard to figure out like I don't want to just go blow money just to blow money and deep down are you concerned that if you spend beyond what you're used to that some of the that could cause you to take your eye off the prize sort of speak yeah and it's like when is it enough like if you if you if I could have signed up for my rookie contract when I was a kid I would have been like I would have signed me up right away like why it's such an interesting conversation to have because I would be so happy with what I have right now if you asked me 10 years ago.

55:33But why do I continue to want more? But for me, it's the continual chase of football that provides the wealth for me. I'm not chasing the wealth, I'm chasing the greatness of football, and that's the benefit that you get from it. I know it's probably a bit of a sensitive subject matter because of the contract currently, but it's probably less about the overall dollar figure and more about getting paid consistent with your ability and how, you know, it doesn't matter if it's a dollar or a bazillion dollars. Yes, it comes down to the market value. And I don't dictate the market value. No player dictates the market value.

56:19But when the market value is a certain number, it's kind of like all things point to that. Like, I didn't ask for that. But But when you're in a certain category, that is just kind of what's done at that point. And that's where things get tricky. Because at the end of the day, I'm just playing football to the best that I possibly can. And the business side of it obviously always creeps its head into the window. And it's like, at what point do you, you've earned and deserved a certain number or a certain thing you're looking for in a contract. And the market says that. So where do we, where do we stand?

56:53What's your perspective on where that stands now relative to you? In what situation? Like, just what's your view on it currently? The current contract, you're saying? Yeah, I mean, just like your situation currently. I think it's allowed me to take a step back and enjoy being here with my family and spending time with Danny and Blakely and my family and friends that are here and kind of remove myself from being so football-focused all the time. And I think it's also allowed me to stand for what I feel I'm worth and to know what I'm worth and to have people in my corner that also are fighting for me.

57:44And I don't want to say fighting for me like I'm going through something, but to understand. But any player needs their advocate. Yeah. Because, I mean, outside of you, you need somebody to look after your own best interest. Yeah, and that's what's awesome to have JJ and Derek who have gone through those contractual conversations before as well. And that's why it's important to have good agents who have your best interests. And it's tricky. That's why it's hard to talk about. There's so many different layers to these contracts. but it all comes back to the market value like we talked about. I mean, the timing almost works out well, though, with having a newborn, right?

58:24Yeah, it does. I mean, if it was ever going to happen. It does, and it's one of those things that it's going to get handled one way or another. It's champagne problems at the end of the day, I understand. What's your reaction when you read the stories about, you know, just yesterday, there's one coming out about teams possibly contemplating making trade offers for you. Yeah, that's one of those things where the more you remove yourself, the better mental space you're going to be in. If I sit there and I read it every single day and I'm texting my agents every single day about every little thing that's going on in the media, it's going to be removing me from being present in the moment.

59:02And that's why it's been important, like we talked about before, to remove myself from social media and just be present and not look back on these years and say, I wish I would have been a better father, a better husband, a better friend because I was so self-consumed in this contract situation when I know it's going to get handled one way or another. You think there's any chance at the start of the 2025 season you aren't a Steeler? That's a great question. We'll have to wait and see. I mean, it's not an impossibility that you could be. I would love to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. I really would. I've enjoyed my time.

59:41Eight hard years. They believed in me to draft me and to give me a second contract and to change my life forever. And I no doubt want to be there. But it all comes back to how the contract negotiations go. It's very complex. What happens in a perfect world? You got me there. Oh, come on. I mean in your perfect world. So in a perfect world, I'll give you a good answer. In a perfect world, I want what's best for my family, and I don't know what that is. What? Because it comes back to at what point is the market value and at what point is what's best for your family, what's best for everybody involved.

1:00:27And I think at the end of the day, whatever decision is made from the Steelers or from me, I think it'll be the best for everybody. What's your gut tell you in terms of what happens? My gut tells me to wait, honestly. My gut tells me to wait and see how things play out and to let my agents do their job and to let the upper management and ownership in Pittsburgh sort it out with my agents. You start to feel disrespected? I mean, I don't know. Disrespect is a very strong word. I think it's important to prioritize your players that have done things successfully at a high level for your organization.

1:01:10And not to say I don't feel prioritized necessarily, but there is frustration at times that a deal hasn't been done to this point. Your brother, Derek, retired at 31. JJ retired at 33. Obviously, six years younger than JJ, but you're kind of the last brother standing. How has their retirement impacted things for you? Now at Lowe's. Faster quotes start at the Lowe's Pro Desk. Got a material list handwritten on a sticky note or saved as a photo? Perfect. Bring it to us and get a quote in minutes. And if you don't see what you need on the shelf, we'll help you get it. You can access thousands of products beyond what's available in-store or on Lowe's.com, right from the Lowe's Pro Desk.

1:02:04Build quotes faster and source the materials you need to keep your jobs moving. Just like that at Lowe's. Tomorrow morning is knocking. Stock your fridge now. How about a creamy mocha frappuccino drink or a sweet vanilla, smooth caramel maybe, or white chocolate mocha? Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks frappuccino drinks wherever you buy your groceries. It's been cool to see because there's polar opposites in the best ways. I mean, J.D. has gone into broadcasting. He's kind of, he still does the commercials and is staying in the light a good amount and also balancing family.

1:02:44to the best visibility. I think he's a great father and a great husband as well, and it's so cool to see him be a dad. I think Koa looks so much like him, and I'm going to meet Nico here soon. And Derek has gone the other route where he also is a phenomenal husband and dad to his kids. They're to the age now where they're in t-ball and golf and stuff, so he's very involved in that, and he does a lot of golf himself, but he stays working out, but he doesn't necessarily work other than that right now. How has it impacted your view of how long you play? I don't know if it's really affected how long I want to play.

1:03:27I think even if subconsciously you're looking at now what they're doing. Yeah, it's one of those things where it's nice. Like it's nice to see that lifestyle now, but I always get the itch about this time to go back and go back to work. And I never really asked them like where their mindset's at in August or September when things are really picking up football wise. And although now does that make it weird for you right now? Because, you know, you're similar to with the kid where the schedule is changing 20, 30 times a day when, you know, you're in this kind of weird period, you know, contract wise.

1:04:01And you don't have a definitive clarity on what it was. It's difficult, definitely. It can add stress to just the situation. The unknown is always stressful at times. But that's why it just comes back to handling my business and working out and keeping the routine, as much routine as I possibly can, so that when the time comes to play football, I'm ready. You look at Aaron Donald, who's 32 years old, one of the best players in the league, and then he's done. What do you think about when you see that? I think it's really special when guys can retire when they're playing at a high level. You never want to be that guy that's just hanging on by a thread, and that was important for J.J., and I think it was cool to see him.

1:04:47I think he had 12 sacks or something. He was going off at the end, like those last couple weeks of his career, and he told me, he's like, once you have your first child, it almost frees you up mentally because you're not always watching film. You're not always so like locked in and like anal over watching film every single night of like, I need to be doing this. I need to be doing that. Or I need to watch my hour of film. I need to get this massage at this time. I need to be doing it's like at some point, relax and just understand that you've put in so much work to get to this point. And you're still working hard.

1:05:22It's not like you're not working as hard just because you have a baby. It just gives you more perspective mentally where you're in a much better space. You're not constantly racking your mind over that pass rush wrapped in the third quarter. What's funny is we, a number of years back, went to the UK and filmed an episode with Lewis Hamilton, who has a notable social life outside of work. And he said he found when he started doing that, it actually allowed him to have more success in his career because he could take the mental break. Yeah. For the longest time, like if we were on vacation, you could ask, you know, I'd be like, Like my mind is like thinking about football right now.

1:06:02And it's like, it shouldn't be that way. You should be enjoy the fruits of your labor and well-deserved and hard-earned time off. And when it's time to lock in, you lock in. There's no question about what the mission is or like being able to lock in the moment. But it's also being able to flip the switch off when I'm off the field has been a benefit to me for sure. How do you feel about turning 30? I'm 30. I'm turning 31. I mean 31. Yes. You're now being 30. Sorry, yeah. I don't feel older. I don't feel like I'm 30. I don't feel like I'm turning 31. I understand the football world. Everybody says you're getting up there, whatever.

1:06:40I think my brother, J.D., told me a long time ago, I don't know if it's true or anything, but he's like, your athletic prime is between 28 and 32. And I'm like, well, I'm still in the window, so I'm cool. How about your view of Bruce Smith's record? 200, right? I think the chase for all the individuals. 200 right. I think the chase for all the individual stuff is is behind me honestly. I can honestly tell you that because it wasn't the case for the first bunch of years in the NFL. I was trying to be more than just J.J. Watt's younger brother and try to pave my own path and then once you win a defensive player of the year and have individual success.

1:07:25I want team success more than anything not to say I didn't before but it was definitely more like I want to prove myself as a player in the NFL and now it's those things come like I'm not writing in my goal book x y and z I'm writing in my goal would be the best teammate I can possibly be how can I help my team win a Super Bowl like what does that look like um and all those other accolades and stats follow I mean can't possibly play harder than I play. Like I'm playing as hard as I possibly can and doing everything that I possibly can to benefit my team. And sacking the quarterback obviously benefits my team.

1:08:04So those things take care of themselves. What do you think you sacrificed to get to where you are? A lot of quality time with quality people. But I also think it's made my circle a lot smaller, especially in the last five to six years of you get spread so thin when you come back home for the off season that you want to see everybody and you realize growing apart from some people isn't always the worst thing there's no bad intent to it but it's just life but the people that are really important that stick around are the people that you want to make sure you take care of and take time to be able to see them and spend quality time with them because the reality as people grow in different directions.

1:08:51Yeah, exactly. And you weren't the same person today that you were a couple decades ago when you and this person were buddies. Yes, and Danny and I talk about that all the time, but being able to have those people to not sacrifice that at the end of the day is important to me. But, I mean, probably social life would definitely sacrifice that. I mean, in Pittsburgh when I was, when we were doing distance, um Danny and I I would just come home from work and I would watch YouTube videos of pass rush and I'd watch film and I'd go to bed like it was like it wasn't I don't think that's a healthy way to live especially as a 22 24 year old kid who's uh in the NFL but that was I was just so obsessed with how can I get better how can I get better football football football that I really didn't want to do anything else.

1:09:45How do you get in your own head? Trying to... Like, you know, negatively, like how will you screw your... I think like, just like as an example from today, like Brad and I have been training for so long, but like last week everybody just came back from mandatory. So before that it was just me and him for like a month. It was awesome. But that can also be a detriment because when it's just me and him, you can tend to over, you can tend to mess with stuff that doesn't need to be messed with. And whether it's running mechanics or like a certain passers move or you try to break things down too much where it's like, am I taking three steps here?

1:10:23Am I taking four steps here? How is it supposed to feel? And it's like, let me just black everything out and just do it because I've done it so many times that I can get back to that space where it's like, stop just for a second, stop coaching me, just let me do it naturally once as opposed to thinking about, let me get my knee up, Let me make sure that my my foot is angled in and I'm getting my big toe pressure down. That has been a benefit to me. And I think it's kind of been better as I'm more into the natural competition of having guys around where I'm not so like trying to do everything perfect.

1:10:59What motivates you? Trying to be the best, trying to be the best that I can be. And I understand trying to be the best ever is very tough to do because it's always going to be up for debate. So I'm just going to try to be the best that I can possibly be. And winning a Super Bowl is no doubt motivating me. And winning a playoff game is absolutely motivating me. It's something that we haven't been able to do since I've been there. I think that's absolutely unacceptable. And that is what's attached to my name right now. And I have to answer for that. As much as it sucks when you say T.J. Watt X, Y, Z, you also say TJ Watt not won a playoff game.

1:11:42Does that genuinely bothers you? Oh, it genuinely bothers me because I'm a part of those teams. As much as I'm only one player, as much as whoever is one player, you are putting your hand in the pile too. I feel like I can make a difference enough to help win a playoff game. To have that to your legacy, especially when you play for an organization that has six Super Bowls and has when me and Joe Green comes back, it's mean Joe Green two time defense player of the year. I don't even know how many Super Bowls he's won. You know Jerome Bettis one or two times Super Bowl champion like it's like T.J.

1:12:20Watt yeah great individual player but what's the team's success and that's what really bothers me. On the football front Aaron Rodgers how do you view him? I don't really have much of an opinion on him honestly. And I asked her what he said to the team because I wasn't able to be there and it was just along the lines of just get to know me and inform an opinion about me and I really respect that. And I think it's one of those things where when there's so much about you out in the media, uh, anybody can read and make up an assumption about who someone is. But until you meet them face to face, you really shouldn't get to judge.

1:12:59Have you had a chance to connect with him? I have not had a chance to connect with him yet. What are your hopes with him? I hope that he plays really good football. That's the hope every single year is that whoever's on the field and whether what position they play, I hope they play the best football they've played in their life. And that's myself included. All right. So random NFL issues. How about the tush push? Your thoughts? I mean, I'm just glad I don't have to be at the bottom of those piles. I'm usually like more in like the B and C gap areas. How about new overtime rules? As a defensive guy, I really don't.

1:13:34I mean, I'd rather have myself like us go out there and take a stand, but I understand what gets ratings these days, and that's scoring touchdowns and offensive points. How do you view what's going on with the NIL right now? It's crazy. Wild Wild West is the best way to put it. There really is no allegiance to universities. I don't know if my story would be possible today. I don't know if the world. Because if I get hurt, they're just going to continue to bring in new guys. And maybe I would have said, instead of switching positions, I would have said, screw this place, I'm going to go try somewhere else.

1:14:14And I'm sure just being J.J. Watt and Derek Watt, being my brothers, I probably could have made a decent money just kind of loafing around and not really pushing myself. So I think it can take motivation away. I think it's great for athletes who use it as a benefit and are able to make money for themselves and their family. I think it's something to monitor for guys when they get in the NFL if the money really changes them or not because they already have money. So that's very interesting. If you were the one creating the rules for what should happen, what would you do? I have no idea. That's a great question.

1:14:52I'm not like locked in enough to be able to even say, but I think there definitely needs to be some sort of parameters in the transfer thing. That's one of the things that I think is important to take pride in your university that you go to. And I don't want anyone to be locked into a university if they're in a bad situation. They can transfer out whatever that looks like. But I think that if you make a commitment to a university to a certain extent, you should honor that commitment and play for them and bring the pride in having your hand in the pile for that organization to see the development throughout because it's hard for these coaches too I'm sure to be able to develop when guys just want to play right away and they're not willing to take the long road.

1:15:34So I want to ask you about this nut allergy which is like a real oh yeah quite frightening at times thing I want to run through just some different moments and have you tell about what went on. The first and kind of most famous story was the European vacation with the brothers. Yeah, we went out to, so I used to always eat the pesto cavatappi from Noodles & Company, right? But I didn't know it didn't have pine nuts in it, so I could eat that. I didn't know whatever. So we went out to a restaurant, got pesto cavatappi, and it took like two bites, and I was getting an allergic reaction, and I hive up in the throat, and it starts to wheeze and it's hard to breathe.

1:16:15And how quickly do you know something's up? Yeah, they change, honestly. Like back then it was like within minutes. It depends on what it is that I eat because sometimes it can be within minutes or sometimes it can be an hour delayed. So like it'll really mess you up, an hour delayed. But I had the reaction, we tried to get a freaking taxi, but there's like a million taxis and we go to the back one and the guy's like, well, we can't get in this taxi. You have to go to the front one. And so then Jayde is all pissed. Derek's pissed. We're like running up to the front taxi. We go to the hospital eventually, and they don't let my brothers come back with me.

1:16:51And then I'm trying to like explain to them what a tree nut is, and they don't understand. I'm like translating it. And people around me, they take my shirt off, and I'm just like all red. And like doctors are like gasping at like what's going on. I'm like, all right, this can't be good. And finally they're able to treat me, but my brothers are out in the waiting room, and they were just like looking at this screen trying to like figure out. Of red, green and blue dots or something. Yeah, like red, green and yellow. Yeah, I couldn't like, I don't know, they tell the story better than me. But yeah, they were basically freaking out because for whatever reason, I think maybe I was under 18 at the time, so whatever, they couldn't let them see me or whatever it was.

1:17:28But yeah, they were freaking out. Were you concerned like you were going to die? I've never been concerned that I'm going to die, but I've been concerned that like this is going south very fast. I need to get it figured out. I never truly thought I was going to die. What about Derek's wedding? Derek's wedding was another one where it was like, they asked them to make sure no nuts were there, whatever, at least on my food. And ended up somehow cross-contamination, like 20 minutes into the dance party, like the party part of the night. After dinner, I started having a large reaction. I had to go to the emergency room and I missed like two hours of his wedding, which sucked but that was i mean daniel was with me for that one that was her first time she was with me she was like what'd she do she was balling like she was uncontrolled because like it is hard to see like i swell up completely like in the face in the neck everything in like i start to wheeze and it's like minute by minute it's harder and harder for me to breathe but as soon as i get the medicine it genuinely like it generally like helps me and this is your brother's wedding the caterer had been warned yeah they knew better it was a whole thing it really was I had one at the Steelers fashion show my rookie year.

1:18:41James Harrison had to take you to the hospital. That one messed me up because it was like an hour and a half after I ate the calamari. It was like an Asian-style calamari with like cashews in it. And like 10 minutes before we were supposed to go on to the fashion show or whatever runway, someone was like, dude, what's up with your face? I was like, well, that's not good to hear, so let me go look at my phone. and my face was blown up and yeah james took me to the to the hospital full speed blowing red lights and everything it was dumb because the ambulance was right next to us like when we walked out of the building okay i have heard though you're supposed to have an epi pen and you i know i won't carry i know my everybody thinks i'm dumb for that and i know i'm dumb for that but i hate carrying i just hate carrying things because i know i'm going to lose it and the epi pen is not like small it's like a like a pencil you know yeah but it could save you life well and your parents are telling me how each one kind of gets worse yeah over time yeah that's the unfortunate thing is it's it's getting worse and like what's the worst one you've had i mean the one i just had in arizona two or three years ago was pretty bad i think that was the last one that i had because you couldn't the the hospital was like closed yeah that one i had an epi pen for and i got i stabbed myself with epi pen i'm like i tell them i'm allergic to tree nuts severe allergy and they bring out bread and they bring out like that oil sauce or ever at the bottom it's usually like a garlic like it looks like garlic but it must have been a nut or something so then like two bites in i knew something was wrong so i went to the car and danny told you know danny's got a fiery side so she told them off and then we left and then she seems like she could yeah stand up for all needed yeah and i i stabbed myself um with the epi pen and i've only used that was the second time in my life i've used my epi pen and the first time i used it it worked right away that time i used it nothing literally nothing so i was like all right oh well that's that's then really yeah i was like we're screwed here we need to find a place and we're in sedona i'm like no idea where the next closest hospital emergency room is we get to the one of them and they like they're not accepting patients or whatever.

1:20:54Their rooms are all full. And they know you're having a... Yeah, and I'm like, I need medicine right now. And finally, we ended up getting back. I was in the hallway. I was in the hallway. They didn't have a room for me and I just called my team doc. That's where being like, my situation is just awesome because I can call my team doc and he can talk to their doctors and just hash everything out and get the situation under control pretty quickly. And your dad was saying there was another instance where he like swiped crumbs off the bed or yeah it's there's been many times my dad no my dad uh well he's a parent he was screwing around and like hit you in the face with a crumb or something he's giving me the hard time in minnesota super bowl we're there uh we always we used to always go to super bowls as a family and uh hang out and um stuff and i was just hanging out with him before like the award show or whatever and he's like oh are you allergic to this or something he like threw one at me it it like it was like a pecan or something it hit me in the eye and it freaking my whole face blew up from that.

1:21:53So that's never happened to me before. Obviously, I've only ingested them. I've never had them touch my skin before. So that was like, I didn't realize how severe the allergy was until that moment. And he obviously felt terrible. Thanks for making the time to do this. Thank you. It was fun. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to leave a rating. And for more in-depth interviews, visit grahambensinger.com.