Retired NFL superstar JJ Watt and his wife, Kealia Watt, have made headlines by acquiring a minority ownership stake in Burnley FC, an English Premier league club. The exact details of their investment have not been disclosed, but it is confirmed that the couple will be involved in growing the women's team of Burnley FC.
JJ and Kealia's investment comes after American investment firm Alk Capital bought majority control of the club in 2020 for a reported fee of £200 million ($250M). Burnley FC, which had been relegated to the second-tier EFL Championship in 2022, recently earned promotion to the Premier League and will compete in the upcoming season.
For the Watts, football ownership is a new frontier. In December 2022, JJ expressed interest in purchasing a percentage of ownership in a football club. "My wife plays soccer, I’ve been very interested in soccer. I’ve really leaned heavily in European soccer over the last five to 10 years. That is something with the passion, fanbase, history, and tradition that definitely does interest me,” JJ said in an interview with Front Office Sports.
Kealia, a former US Women's National Team player and current free agent in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), has played professionally in both the United States and Europe. The Watt family, who recently spent $7 million on a mansion in Phoenix, Arizona following JJ's retirement from the NFL, are known for their philanthropic efforts and community involvement.
JJ and Kealia are not the only athletes to have invested in football clubs. Other notable sports figures with ownership stakes in football clubs include LeBron James (Liverpool FC), Patrick Mahomes (Sporting Kansas City), Kevin Durant (Philadelphia Union and Gotham FC), and James Harden (Houston Dynamo). Former NFL safety Malcolm Jenkins also became a minority investor in Burnley FC in 2021.