Amid the Monday-morning hustle of handling his children and feeding them breakfast, JJ Watt realized he had a missed call from CBS Sports president David Berson.
The future Hall of Famer immediately thought of the worst, wondering: “Am I in trouble?”
Perhaps he had crossed the line with his punch-drill exercises alongside Jim Nantz on Sunday that appeared to legitimately hurt the legendary play-by-play man.
A game of phone tag ensured, only building the drama, before Watt could finally relax.
“Turns out it was significantly better news than being called into the principal’s office,” he said in a X video posted Thursday morning.
Berson told Watt he would be extended as the lead analyst for NFL games, a role he took over this year following Tony Romo’s OWI arrest that ultimately led to his split with the company.
Watt, 37, will now call Super Bowl 2028 for the network.
“It’s an incredible honor and it’s humbling,” Watt said in the two-plus-minute video. “There’s only five seats that get to do this, and for me to be able to represent CBS for David Berson and everybody involved to have the trust in me to be that person in that seat, to represent this great company in all of the hundreds of thousands of people that work for this company and that put on such a great product every single week, it is a true honor and privilege and I do not take that responsibility lightly at all.”
Watt has enjoyed a quick rise within CBS.
His 13-year career with the Texans and Cardinals ended in 2022 and he joined CBS as a studio analyst for “The NFL Today” in 2023.
Watt joined the No. 2 broadcast crew as an analyst in 2025, working alongside Ian Eagle, before being thrust into the No. 1 booth after Romo’s arrest in July.
The initial promotion came after Romo had been placed on leave “until further notice,” leaving a murky timeline, before an early October announcement that Watt would be in the role for the entire season coinciding with Romo and CBS Sports agreeing to his departure.
Three weeks later, Watt is now solidified as one of the faces of CBS football coverage alongside Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.
Watt praised Nantz, Wolfson and others behind the scenes for helping him in his X video.
“I appreciate (CBS’) trust in me and I have an absolute blast doing it every single week and I cannot wait to continue to do it,” Watt said. “We’re going to have a lot more fun moments, Jim Nantz, voice of a generation, absolutely legendary, incredible to have the opportunity to six next to him.”
He added: “Very fortunate to work for this great company. Very honored to have the opportunity to continue to do it moving forward and can’t wait to get back in that booth on Sunday.”
