JJ Watt goes on Burnley pub crawl for ‘research’ after investing in club

Former NFL star JJ Watt decided to follow up his decision to invest in Burnley by going on a crawl around the local pubs.

Last week Watt and his wife Kealia, a former USA football international, bought a minority stake in the club, who will return to the Premier League next season.

The three-time NFL defensive player of the year said he wanted to meet Burnley fans, so a pub crawl seemed a natural choice.

“I’ve learned that the history, tradition and supporters, it’s all about respecting and honouring that,” he told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday. “You never want to come in and try and do something that’s not true to who the club is and what we’re trying to do is show people what real Burnley is about.

“I did a pub crawl yesterday on my way to the stadium so I started at the Royal Dyche, worked my way down to Vintage Clarets and all my way up to Turf Moor. Just getting to know the supporters, I want to earn their trust by showing them how much we care and how passionate we are.

“It’s research, I’m doing research and lots of pints of Guinness along the way. But it was a lot of fun and really good to get to know them on a personal level, and hopefully they get to know us as well.”

The 34-year-old, one of the most dominant defensive NFL forces of his generation, said he wanted to stay involved in sport after his retirement from playing at the end of last season. He has been a fan of the Premier League for more than a decade and said he had spoken to Ryan Reynolds, whose success with Wrexham has become a global story.

“Promotion and relegation, the highs and lows, the consequences are incredible, so we have been looking for a club for a long time,” he said. “We knew that once we found the right opportunity we were going to go all-in, so we took our time. Burnley checked every single box.”