JJ Watt Net Worth: Career Earnings Make Star A Top-5 Highest-Paid Defensive End In Retirement
NFL star J.J. Watt seemed to announce his retirement Tuesday on Twitter when he commented that Week 16 marked his last ever home game. The 12-year veteran will go down as one of the greatest defensive players in league history, as well as one of the highest-paid players at his position.
Watt will go into retirement with $129.45 million in career earnings, according to Spotrac. Only three defensive ends have made more money than Watt by playing professional football. Watt has a base salary of $11.25 million for the 2022 season with the Arizona Cardinals.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Watt's net worth to be $50 million, though it's unclear how close that figure is to being accurate.
Watt is in the final season of a two-year contract worth $28 million plus incentives. His previous deal was a six-year, $100 million extension that he signed with the Houston Texans in September 2014. The Texans released Watt prior to the 2021 season, which would've been the final year of that extension.
The extension featured $51.8 million guaranteed, a then-record for defensive players. When Watt signed the deal, he was one of the most dominant players the league had ever seen at any position.
From 2012-2015, Watt was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times. Watt won the award in 2012 and 2014 by recording 20.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in each season. Watt led the league with 17.5 sacks and 29 tackles for a loss in 2015. Watt even averaged 11.3 passes defensed per year as a defensive end in his award-winning seasons.
Since 2016, Watt has been plagued by injuries. He was limited to eight total games in two seasons after he won his third Defensive Player of the Year award. In 2018, Watt made his fifth and final Pro Bowl by recording 16 sacks and seven forced fumbles.
The Texans made Watt the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 draft and signed him to a four-year deal worth a little less than $11.3 million.
Watt didn't see a ton of team success in his career. Houston has never made a Super Bowl appearance, though Watt did make five playoff appearances during his 10 seasons with the Texans. Watt and the Cardinals were defeated on Wild-Card Weekend last season and have been eliminated from playoff contention this season.
With two games left in his career, Watt's teams have gone exactly .500 in games that he's played.
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