J.J. Watt has jokes.
The former NFL defensive end had some fun with the news of Nick Bosa’s historic five-year, $170 million contract extension with the 49ers he signed Wednesday.
The deal, reported by ESPN, will make Bosa the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
That got the 34-year-old Watt thinking that the dollar value may be just enough to convince him to un-retire.
“Just getting a chance to sit down and look at the breakdown of Bosa’s new (very well-deserved) contract,” Watt jokingly wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I have a little more digging to do, but I’m starting to feel comfortable saying that I would consider un-retiring if offered a similar contract.
“Maybe.”
Bosa’s monster deal also includes $122.5 million in guaranteed money.
By comparison, according to Spotrac, Watt retired with $129.7 million in total earnings, so maybe there was a little truth in his joke.
Watt did have to clarify he was joking in a follow-up post on X.
“Not enough people are understanding the joke here and it’s concerning,” he wrote.
Watt played 12 years in the NFL between the Texans and Cardinals before retiring in 2022.
He recorded 114.5 sacks and 195 tackles for loss during the course of his career as he was a three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year while he was selected as an All-Pro and Pro Bowler five times apiece.
But even in retirement, Watt will not be unoccupied with his time.
He invested in Burnley FC of the Premier League in May and in June announced he was joining the NFL on CBS crew for this upcoming season.
“I love the game too much to be away from it entirely,” the 34-year-old Watt said in a statement earlier in the summer. “I’m very excited to be joining CBS Sports to contribute across all their NFL shows and platforms, including working alongside and learning from JB [James Brown], Coach [Bill Cowher], Boomer [Esiason], Phil [Simms] and Nate [Burleson] this fall.”
As for Bosa and the 49ers, they will take on the Steelers on Sunday in the season opener.