Former NFL star JJ Watt reveals how his wife, Kealia, PROVED he couldn't be a footballer - as the Burnley investor opens up on his new 'respect' for goalkeepers

Former NFL star JJ Watt has revealed that his wife, Kealia, proved he couldn't be a footballer by firing a ferocious shot past him. 

Watt played 12 seasons in the NFL before retiring last year and became a minority investor in Burnley in May with Kealia, an ex-professional footballer. 

The two will represent the Clarets this June in a seven-a-side tournament for the club's men's and women's teams, competing for a prize worth almost £800,000. 

However, Watt has spilled an inconvenient truth - he's not that good at football. He explained how an experiment with Kealia proved that was the case. 

'I said this very confidently, I was like, "Given a few years to train, I would be a great 'keeper,"' Watt told the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. 

'I was like, "I think I could legitimately be a professional 'keeper," and I was dead serious. My wife obviously was ribbing me about it and was like, "No, stop saying that." 

'So, during Covid, everything shut down. She had nobody to train with and I wanted to help her train. 

'In our back yard in Wisconsin, we have a bunch of land, so we built a soccer field. And I was like, "Alright, here it goes. I'm going to play 'keeper and you shoot on me." 

'She dribbled across the top of the box and fired a shot in the upper 90. Zinged across, past my pad at 74 miles an hour. So, I said, "Okay, new rule. You don't kick it from anywhere inside 20 yards." So, I have the most newfound respect for 'keepers, and I no longer think I could [be a professional goalkeeper].' 

In fairness to him, he could have picked an easier opponent. Kealia is a former USA international, Houston Dash captain, and in the 2016 NWSL season tied with Lynn Williams for the golden boot. 

With that Wisconsin experiment not paying off, Watt had discovered that he wouldn't make it in the beautiful game as a player. 

That didn't stop Watt, who has previously admitted he is a Chelsea fan, from investing in Burnley last May as they secured promotion to the Premier League. 

'I love football, I really do. I’ve watched the Premier League since 2010-11, looked at a few clubs and somebody said that you should talk to Burnley. I went up and visited, met with everybody, with Vincent [Kompany], saw the town and it just felt right,' he told the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, when expalining the decision. 

He also tried to rationalise how he thought an aptitude for American football could transfer over to 'soccer'.  

'I always look right at speed. I think the technical side – I 100% agree with my wife on this – you guys grew up with the ball at your feet. The ability to control the ball, I don't think any of us could get that in five or six years – that's a lifetime of the ball at your feet,' he told the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.  

'So, then I go to, "Okay, what could they do?" A wide receiver with speed, running down the side and being able to cross one in. Or, a defensive back, man-to-man defence in the NFL, I think just playing left or right back and being to just man-up a winger. Where you don't have to be on the ball as much and you're literally just shadowing somebody. Where can we hide them?'

JJ Watt was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.