JJ Watt and football star wife Kealia have set their sights on the Premier League

Aside from their immediate re-promotion to the Premier League, Burnley have had more news to celebrate lately.

Newly retired NFL star JJ Watt and his wife Kealia, a professional football player, have invested in the club ahead of their return to the top flight.

“We believe Burnley is a special club with incredible supporters and we want to help continue to raise its global profile on its return to the Premier League,” they said in a joint statement.

But aside from their obvious passion for the Clarets, what do we know about JJ and Kealia?

Here, DailyMail. com delves deep into Burnley’s latest minority owners.

The pair have vowed to grow the team’s global profile as part of the partnership

Who is JJ Watt?

While Watt is a newcomer to the Premier League, he is a future Hall of Famer and NFL legend across the pond.

Entering Wisconsin in the first round in 2011 (No. 11 overall), Watt established himself as an elite defensive end for 12 seasons, 10 of them with the Houston Texans.

In three different seasons, Watt was considered the NFL’s best defensive player, and was also named an All-Pro five times.

He hung up his shoes after this season, his second and last with the Arizona Cardinals.

Off the pitch, Watt is – or was – a well-known Chelsea fan.

The 34-year-old’s Twitter page is full of past references to the London club, and he was even pictured visiting Stamford Bridge during a Texan trip to London.

With Burnley facing the Blues at least twice next season, Watt is likely to cast aside his former allegiance.

JJ Watt, 34, recently retired from the NFL at the end of last season with the Arizona Cardinals

JJ Watt is or has been a Chelsea fan for nearly a decade, according to his Twitter page

Who is Kealia Watt?

JJ is not the only world-class athlete in his marriage as his wife Kealia is a professional soccer player with three U.S. women’s national team caps to her credit.

The forward played for North Carolina in college before being drafted by Houston Dash of the NWSL in 2014.

She played six seasons with the franchise, scoring 28 goals before being traded to the Chicago Red Stars the following year.

She last played for the club in 2021, and following the birth of her and JJ’s son Koa in October 2022, the free agent may choose to hang up her cleats just like her husband.

“I have yet to decide if I want to play,” she said People in February.

Kelly is 31 years old.

Kealia Watt (Ohai at the time) plays for the US women’s national team vs. Switzerland

JJ shared this sweet photo of his family back in April, with a smile of him and Kealia’s son Koa

How did they meet?

Aside from their Houston overlaps, JJ and Kealia had a mutual connection.

Kealia’s brother-in-law, Brian Cushing, was a teammate of JJ’s on the Texans, and the pair met through the now-retired linebacker.

JJ and Kealia reportedly started dating in 2016, and the (American) soccer star revealed their romance in 2017 by posting a photo of the couple on the beach for his other half’s birthday.

‘Happy Birthday beautiful. May this be your best year ever! @kealiamae,” he wrote.

The couple got engaged in May 2019 and married in the Bahamas in February 2020.

Just over two years later, the couple announced they were expecting a child, and Koa James Watt was born on October 23 last year.

JJ and Kealia can be seen at a 2017 Houston Rockets game during the playoffs

Watt pictured with Kealia and their child Koa during his last ever game as an NFL player

JJ made his relationship with Kealia public by posting a selfie from the beach on her birthday

Why Burnley?

With Kealia’s playing career and JJ’s adopted love of the sport, the couple seem to have a passion for football.

Plus, in a video announcing their investment, JJ joked that he really needs it[s] something to do’ after retiring earlier this year.

Speaking more seriously last year, Watt said Sports front office that he was “definitely” interested in owning a piece of a football club, and that he had shown himself streaming Burnley on several occasions before the investment was officially announced.

“My wife plays football, I am very interested in football,” he told FOS.

“I’ve been really focused on European football for the last 5-10 years, and that’s something about the passion, about the fan base, the history, the tradition, that definitely has some interest in me.”

In addition, the pair have admitted to being inspired by the work Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have done at Wrexham, while Kealia has underscored her desire to drive the growth of the women’s team at Burnley.

“In the US, I’ve seen the NWSL grow into something incredible, and we’d love to be a part of the women’s team growing here and part of their journey,” she said on Sky Sports News.

The pair have vowed to grow the team’s global profile as part of the partnership

The pair took part in the championship title celebration on Tuesday afternoon

JJ showed that he was watching Burnley games before he was officially announced as an investor

What else have they said so far?

The Watts said in a joint statement announcing the investment they have “great respect” for the club’s history and tradition.

‘We understand that we are not only investing in the team and the manager, we are also investing in the city and its people. We take that responsibility very seriously and intend to work hard to earn their trust and support.

“We have such great respect for what has been built here [chairman] Alan [Pace], [manager] Vincent [Kompany[ and the entire organization and are looking forward to working with them.

‘We believe that Burnley is a special club with incredible supporters and we want to help continue to elevate its global profile on its return to the Premier League.’

JJ also promised ‘massive emotional investment’ in the club, which has been around since 1882.

NFL legend JJ Watt and his wife Kealia invested in title-winning English soccer club Burnley

The couple also spoke about Wrexham and possibly taking cues from Reynolds and McElhenney, who have seen their side promoted into League 2.

‘We watched the documentary on and it was so cool to see what they’ve done,’ Kealia said on Sky Sports News. ‘That’s kind of what we are modelling this after. Wrexham is such a fun team and we have followed that.’

‘I spoke to Rob about his experience and tried to gain some insight into what he’s done,’ JJ added. ‘And I’ve spoken to Ryan and tried to get his ideas about what has worked and what hasn’t.

‘Obviously it is a different league and a different situation but they have done an incredible job. Our goal is to come in and get involved in the community, to really feel like the supporters.’

JJ reacts alongside Kealia during Burnley’s 3-0 win vs. Cardiff City on Monday

What does the future look like?

JJ and Kealia are already proving to be hands-on as minority owners.

The pair traveled to the Lancashire town this week to revel in the celebrations following the team’s Championship title, with Watt embarking on a pub crawl Monday before they attended the Clarets’ 3-0 win vs. Cardiff City.

‘Just getting to know the supporters, I want to earn their trust by showing them how much we care and how passionate we are,’ he told BBC Breakfast.

‘It’s research, I’m doing research and lots of pints of Guinness along the way.’

Watt embarked on a pub crawl as he joined fans celebrating title success ahead of final game

And the fans already seem to be taking to the former NFL star, with local bar The Royal Dyche calling JJ a ‘lovely gent.’

Furthermore, could it be possible that we see a Burnley documentary, or at least further attempts to attract eyeballs to the club like Wrexham has done?

JJ said he and Kealia want to ‘help tell [the club’s] story to America and beyond. We want people to know the Clarets.’

Perhaps Burnley will become the next British club to take the US by storm.