J.J. Watt could be making a return to football soon. According to Awful Announcing, NBC is targeting the NFL legend to be part of a new show that will cover Big Ten Football. Watt is reportedly being courted by multiple networks, which could be the reason he ultimately won’t land at NBC. But if Watt does join the network, he would be working with Maria Taylor and Joshua Perry on the new show. Watt is also expected to have a significant role on Sunday Night Football due to his NFL background.
It was announced last year that the Big Ten signed a new media rights contract with NBC, CBS, and Fox, which is worth $8 billion for seven years. The contract includes NBC airing the biggest Big Ten football game of the week on Saturday nights starting this fall.
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“The highlight of this partnership will be Big Ten Saturday Night on NBC and Peacock – a primetime football game each fall weekend,” Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports said in a statement last year. “Coupled with Sunday Night Football, NBC Sports will be the primetime home of America’s most popular sport every Saturday and Sunday. This is a wonderful addition to our historic college football partnership with the University of Notre Dame. The new agreement with college sports’ top conference will also feature basketball games, Olympic sports, golf and more, providing hundreds of hours of content for us to program across Peacock. The Big Ten is an important addition to our portfolio, which includes long-term partnerships through the end of the decade with the NFL, IOC, the PGA TOUR, and Premier League, among others.”
Watt, 34, announced his retirement during the 2022 season. He began his NFL career in 2011 when he was selected by the Houston Texans in the first round of the NFL Draft. Watt would play 10 seasons in Houston before signing with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021. In his career, Watt, who played defensive end recorded 114.5 sacks and 70 passes defended in 151 games. He was named to the Pro Bowl five times, the All-Pro team seven times led the NFL in sacks, won NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times and was named Walton Payton Man of the Year in 2017. Watt played college football at Wisconsin where he was a first-team Big Ten and All-American selection in 2010 after recording 21 tackles for loss and 21 sacks.
