WATCH: J. J. Watt sobs uncontrollably as he is left in tears after receiving messages from Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and his family upon his retirement
J. J. Watt cries after receiving farewell messages from NFL superstars and his family.
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Aaron Rodgers and J. J. Watt (Image via Twitter)
J. J. Watt has finally hung his cape after dominating the league for over 12 years. He was one of the most feared defensive linemen in the league and earned the respect of his peers. While he didn’t have the farewell one would expect as the Arizona Cardinals lost the final game of the regular season to the San Francisco 49ers, he was gifted a special send-off on Saturday night before the game, which left him in tears.
HBO followed the Cardinals who were part of the latest season of Hard Knocks. The premium channel released a video that showed J. J. Watt’s family and fellow NFL stars congratulating the 33-year-old on a Hall of Fame career.
The Arizona Cardinals had a pretty disappointing season and ended the season with a 4-13 record and earned the tag of the worst team in the league. Following their shameful defeat in the final week, the Cardinals fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
J. J. Watt receives the best farewell gift
During Arizona’s Saturday night team meeting, the team played a video containing messages recorded by J. J. Watt’s family and his fellow athletes. The video started off with Watt’s younger brother and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker, T.J. Watt. “Brother. Jej. I just want to say congratulations on retirement. You and your resiliency throughout all the ups and downs. You ending up in the NFL, and you being a Defensive Player of the Year and you having all the success that you had showed me. That it’s possible.”
After hearing his brother talk about him and seeing his love for him, the 3x Defensive Player of the Year couldn’t hold back his tears and cried inconsolably. Following T. J. Watt‘s beautiful message, Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers congratulated him and said he couldn’t wait to see him be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Super Bowl 50 winner and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, along with Tom Brady, chimed in as well and Brady added, “You were a pain in my ass for a long time. It was an honor to share the field with you.”
Watt’s older brother Derek, his mom Connie, and his father John Watt also featured in the video and recalled his starting days and said they were proud of the man he turned out to be. His father John, who was his first coach, said that it’s been a pleasure to watch him play all these years and is sad seeing it all come to an end.
His wife, Kealia Watt, and their baby, Koa, were the last to appear in the video. She said, “It has been such an honor to watch you work your ass off these past years and do whatever you needed to do to be the best. And you’ve always been so generous and kind and loving to everybody around you and you never forgot who you are. And I know Koa will be so proud to be your son.”
The 2015 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year took to Twitter and thanked his friends and family for their heartfelt wishes. He wrote: “Was not ready for that whatsoever. Truly one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received. Will cherish it forever.”
J. J. Watt was overwhelmed by all the messages and couldn’t help but cry. He truly had an amazing career on and off the field and will go down in history as one of the greatest defensive linemen in the NFL.
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Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)