At 36, JJ Watt and his wife, former professional soccer player Kealia Ohai, are raising two young sons. Given the family’s incredible athletic genes, all three Watt brothers (J.J., T.J., and Derek) played in the NFL; it’s natural to wonder what sport their boys will choose. And, now, Watt has answered his sons’ future sport. 

This leads to a classic football vs. soccer debate in the Watt household. While Kealia might hope her boys follow her lead onto the pitch, J.J. seems to think genetics are stacking the deck in his favor, literally, which might be disappointing for Kealia. J.J. recently weighed in, noting that his sons seem to have inherited his size, which isn’t exactly ideal for ninety minutes of non-stop running.

“They do seem to have taken on my size, which makes endurance sports quite difficult. They might end up being a little too large to be running around the soccer pitch for 90 minutes. I think they will play soccer early to get that skill set, but I have a feeling they might transition to tackling a quarterback.”

He’s leaving the door open for soccer early on, seeing it as a great way for them to build skills. But ultimately, it sounds like he believes their physical frame might naturally nudge them toward the football field—though he stresses that the final choice will always be up to the boys.

J.J. Watt has made a smooth transition from terrorizing NFL quarterbacks to analyzing them for CBS Sports. The former defensive powerhouse, who retired in 2023, is now the lead analyst for the network’s second-tier NFL broadcast team, calling games alongside veteran play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle. This move comes after he spent the 2023 season as a studio analyst on The NFL Today, stepping into the booth full-time for the 2025 season.

Now, let’s take a look at the power couple, JJ and Kealia, and the growth of their young family.

Everything to know about JJ Watt and Kealia Ohai’s young family

The marriage of J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai Watt isn’t just a sports headline; it’s a genuine partnership between two people who know exactly what it takes to be the best. Before they were a power couple, though, they were just two busy athletes who got lucky. Their first date was thanks to a perfect locker-room setup: Kealia’s brother-in-law, Brian Cushing, was J.J.’s teammate on the Houston Texans and played matchmaker. Kealia, a phenomenal soccer star, was a huge deal in her own right; she was the second overall pick in the NWSL draft and even played for the U.S. Women’s National Team, so she certainly wasn’t intimidated by J.J.’s fame.

In early 2016, they started dating, but in a world obsessed with celebrity, they managed to keep their relationship completely under wraps. The secret finally came out in the sweetest way in 2017 when J.J., during a press conference, slipped on a t-shirt bearing Kealia’s jersey number, a simple, public declaration of love. They made it official in 2019 with an engagement, tying the knot the following year in 2020. They’ve since shifted their focus to their family, starting with the arrival of their first son, Koa James Watt, in 2022. It’s fitting that they chose the name Koa, which means “warrior,” for a kid born into a family with such a legendary athletic legacy.

Most recently, their family grew again with the birth of their second son, Niko Benjamin Watt, in 2025. Niko is a meaningful, traditional name that literally translates to “victory of the people.” It’s a beautifully powerful choice for the son of a Defensive Player of the Year and a World Cup champion, giving the newest little Watt a name that perfectly suits his winning lineage, no matter what career path he decides to follow.