JJ Watt Loves Watching Toddler Son Koa Explore Sports: ‘Every Day There’s Something New’ (Exclusive)

• JJ Watt has been enjoying family time since retiring at the end of the 2022-2023 season.
• Watt and wife Kealia (31) had a son, Koa, in October 2022
• The couple, both athletes, enjoy watching their son explore different sports

JJ Watt loves the quality time he spends with his little boy.

Speaking to PEOPLE about his partnership with Dawn to tackle the worst Super Bowl messes, the retired Arizona cardinal, 34, talked about how he loves the chaos and mess involved in life at home with his wife, Kealia, and 15-month-old son, Ko.

“I didn’t realize how exponentially messy our house would become. It’s like a constant cycle of making a mess, cleaning, making a mess, cleaning,” laughs Watt. “But it’s the most fascinating thing in the world – if it’s my mess or if one of my friends or my brothers makes a mess, I’m furious. But if Koa makes a mess, I’ll clean it up all day.”

Watt says she likes that “every day is something new,” with her little boy.

“He really likes sports. He has his little basketball hoop and he likes to put the ball in the hoop. He has some mini hockey sticks and he’s finally learning how to use two hands on a hockey stick, which is great.”

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Mom caught toddler washing dishes — and his hilarious response went viral: ‘It’s natural to him’

For Watt and Kealia, both athletes, it’s been fun to watch the child’s various skills develop and see where his interests lead him.

“Obviously, we love sports because of everything they teach kids. They learn discipline, they learn hard work, they learn teamwork. They learn how to deal with winning and losing, how to deal with adversity,” he shares.

– We have experienced this all our lives, so we are very much looking forward to his participation, as long as he wants to, and so far it seems that he is interested.

The couple often wonder if they are in favor of Koa playing their sport.

“People always ask us, ‘Is he going to be a football player? Is he going to be a football player?’ Unfortunately, I think he’ll probably be a little too big for — he’s a big boy right now, so I don’t know if his stamina and endurance will be there for football. But I can only hope he gets his mom’s quickness and speed because she’s a heck of an athlete.”

JJ Watt washes the dishes.

Courtesy of Dawn

Koa is also having fun because she is a big help to mom and dad. “He actually likes to clean up, which is great. My wife literally just texted me that she started singing the cleaning song, and he started putting away his toys, so that’s a big milestone.”

Watt’s Dawn Partnership will send the former Arizona Cardinal to wash dishes for one lucky fan, calling the special event “JJ’s Wash Party.” and hands out a million dollar Dawn Platinum to take care of everyone else’s Super Bowl messes in the blink of an eye.

Starting today, fans can go to JJWashParty.com to claim their free bottle of Dawn Platinum EZ-Squeeze and enter for a chance to win a trip to the ultimate washing party, where Watt will be doing the dishes. One grand prize winner and up to nine guests will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to visit JJ in Arizona, watch a big game or show, and let one of the toughest players in football tackle the greasiest messes of a great day’s game.

“I’m very excited to partner with Dawn. For me, like many of my other partners, this is really organic and natural because I’ve literally been using Dawn dishwashing detergent in my house since I was little. I’ve used it my whole life and I have a son of my own now and we’re very, very big fans of Dawn in this house,” shares Watt.

“So when they came to me with the idea to host a viewing party and give away $1 million with Dawn Platinum products and also help save wildlife, obviously Dawn Platinum is the only thing that Wildlife Rescuers believe in, this was a perfect little match . It’s not that I always can’t wait to watch the dishes, but I’m looking forward to making some fans day because I know there will be one lucky winner and then nine will bring them to their friends. So it should be a great day and if I have to do the dishes for them make the day, so good. I’m looking forward to it.”

JJ Watt washes dishes with Dawn the duck.

Courtesy of Dawn

Watt is still adjusting to life after the NFL, but says it was “best” to spend more time with Ko and Kealia.

“Having so much time to spend with my wife and son and being able to just hang out with him every morning and take him to the park and go for walks and just watch him grow and help him understand this world and watch him you know, learn how this whole thing works is special and that’s the whole reason you retired, for me anyway.” he says.

“It was exactly because of this experience and I loved every minute of it,” he continues. “I got to go watch TJ’s games and see him play. I got to spend time with Derek and his kids. It was really cool and a nice added bonus to it all.

Laughing, he adds: “My body feels fantastic too, because I’m not getting beat up every Sunday, so that’s great.”

JJ Watt kisses son Ko in his final NFL game. Ezra Shaw/Getty

As the year rolls on and Watt enters the next chapter, his son continues to come first.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what Koa does next because every day, every week there’s something new with him,” he says.

“I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with my family. TJ was just in season and we spent Christmas up in Wisconsin when my parents went with Derek. So more family time, definitely off season.

“This new year is a completely new year for me, honestly,” he admits. “I don’t know what it’s going to look like. Last year, I just retired and was trying to figure my way through that world, now this year is a whole other new world that I’m trying to figure out. So, I’m excited for the unknown and I’m looking forward to the new opportunities that they appear to me.”

“Including this washing party,” he laughs. “It should be fascinating. I’ve never washed dishes for a party of 10 before, so this will be new for me.”

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Source: HIS Education