30 Thrilling Facts About T. J. Watt Every Fan Must Know

T. J. Watt, one of the best defensive players in the National Football League, has been creating hype, since the day of his 2017 draft. With his power-packed and aggressive gameplay, he soon became one of the best overall for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In fact, by the end of 2019 season, he tallied AFC-high 14.5 sacks and a league-high eight forced fumbles, establishing himself as the one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL. Here are some really interesting facts about the NFL player that will make you love him more:

Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
1.  In the year 2021, Watt signed a four-year extension with Pittsburgh Steelers, worth over $112 million including $80 million guaranteed, becoming the highest paid defensive player in the NFL.
2.  During the 2021 season, despite missing two games, he tied the single-season NFL record for most quarterback sacks in a season, with the 2001 Michael Strahan's 22.5 sack record.
3.  He was a finalist for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019 and 2020 before finally winning the award in 2021.
4.  He signed a fully guaranteed, four-year, $9.25 million contract with a signing bonus of $4.87 million with the Pittsburgh Steelers on June 14, 2017.
5.  On January 6, 2022, the Steelers named Watt their Team MVP. He became the only player in team history to win the award in three-straight seasons.
6.  Trent Jordan Watt was born on October 11, 1994 to John Watt and Connie Watt in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. He is the youngest of three boys in the family.
7.  His father served as a firefighter for 25 years, while his mother is the vice president of an independent inspections company.
8.  He, along with his brothers, attended and played high school football at Pewaukee High School. His elder brothers J. J. Watt and Derek Watt, both currently play in the National Football League.
9.  J. J. Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Pro defensive end, currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals.
10.  Derek, a fullback, is his teammate with the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2020. Derek was initially drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.


Brook Ward, via Flickr

11.  He attended University of Wisconsin, where he majored in retailing and consumer behavior. His elder brother Derek was his teammate at Wisconsin from 2012 to 2015.
12.  Out of Pewaukee High School, he was rated as a three-star recruit by various recruiting services. He started his collegiate career as a tight end recruit for the Wisconsin Badgers.
13.  During the 2014 season, he suffered from a knee injury, and remained in the recovery process until the middle of the next season. In fact, Watt did not play a single game from October 2012 to September 2015.
14.  In July 2015, Watt was asked by head coach Paul Chryst to switch to a defensive position as a redshirt sophomore.
15.  Although he was in his third fall at Wisconsin, he was more like a freshman at that time. However, just after his fourth game of his junior season, he led the Big Ten conference in sacks.
16.  In the Michigan State game, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Week and was given the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week Award.
17.  His performance in the 2016 season, recording 59 total tackles and 11.5 sacks, earned him the first team All-American honors by Sports Illustrated and second team honors by The Associated Press.
18.  On January 3, 2017, Watt announced on his official Twitter account that he would forgo his senior season and would enter the 2017 NFL Draft.
19.  Following this, he received an invitation to the NFL Combine as one of the top edge rushers in the draft, in which he completed all the combine drills.
20.  Among linebackers, Watt finished second in the vertical jump and three-cone drill, tied for first in the broad jump, and also tied for first in the short shuttle.

Brook Ward, via Flickr
21.  He was ranked the second best outside linebacker in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the fourth best outside linebacker by NFL analyst Bucky Brooks, and the ninth best edge rusher by Sports Illustrated. ESPN ranked Watt as the 44th best prospect available in the draft.
22.  During the 2017 NFL Draft, he was selected in the first round with the 30th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also the fourth linebacker taken in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2013.
23.  He competed with James Harrison for the starting right outside linebacker position in the training camp, and was named to the position at the beginning of the season.
24.  He made his professional regular season debut and first NFL start in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Cleveland Browns on September 10, 2017.
25.  He became the first rookie to start at linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers since Aaron Jones in 1988. He recorded his seven combined tackles, two sacks, and one interception during the game and returned the interception for 17-yards.
26.  He tied Bud Dupree and LaMarr Woodley for the franchise record for most sacks by a rookie with his fourth.
27.  He received an overall grade of 75.8 from Pro Football Focus in 2018, which ranked as the 24th highest grade among all qualifying edge defenders.
28.  At the end of 2019 season, He was voted Team MVP by his teammates, being the first defensive player to win the award since Troy Polamalu in 2010.
29.  On April 28, 2020, the Steelers exercised the fifth-year option on Watt's contract. Just a month before, the Steelers also signed his older brother Derek.
30.  He finished the 2021 season, leading the league in sacks (22.5), tackles for loss (21) and quarterback hits (39). He also won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award at the 11th Annual NFL Honors.
31.  T. J. Watt Net Worth: $10 Million