Since retiring, former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt and his wife Kealia have been busy with other sports – they are current investors in the Burnley Football Club (F.C.).

Now, Watt has announced that he will join CBS Sports as a studio analyst for CBS Sports.

He will make his first appearance for the first week of the regular season on The NFL Today, according to CBS Sports President David Berson.

“I love the game too much to be away from it entirely. 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, Coach, Boomer, Phil, and Nate this fall,” Watt said in a statement. “Hopefully fans will enjoy the insights and knowledge I’ve gained over my 12 years in the NFL and if we’re lucky, we’ll share a few laughs along the way as well.”

But there was a chance Watt chose a different team when he was a free agent – he considered the Steelers during free agency in 2021. The older brother to outside linebacker T.J. Watt decided not to because the team was in the middle of working out a record-breaking contract extension with his little brother. A team with the three Watt brothers, including fullback Derek Watt, was certainly possible.

“They were on the list. It certainly would have been awesome to play with my brothers, but T.J. was also going through the contract situation there, so the last thing I wanted to do was come in and take any money away from his contract,” Watt said.

The now 34-year-old signed with the Arizona Cardinals, as he finished his career there the last two seasons, but dealt with multiple injuries that impacted his production.

Watt was a three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year and had 114 1/2 career sacks. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft by Houston and was the face of that defense for ten seasons. The former veteran defensive end will be a future NFL Hall of Famer and will also be inducted into the University of Wisconsin’s Hall of Fame this year. The 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year is the only player in league history to record multiple seasons with at least 20 sacks.

For the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and five-time Pro Bowler, it seems his post-retirement will keep him occupied, as this could just be the beginning.

CBS Sports has hired an offensive veteran of 15 seasons for their roster. Four-time Pro Bowler Matt Ryan will step into a different kind of uniform – NFL analyst.

The former Falcons and Colts quarterback had this to say about the development of the sports network via an Instagram post:

“Excited to join the @nfloncbs family! Looking forward to breaking down the game this season. P.S. – this is not a retirement post…”

According to a press release from CBS Sports, “Ryan will serve as an analyst for select NFL ON CBS games and also provide analysis for THE NFL TODAY, THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW (TOPS), NFL MONDAY QB as well as CBS Sports HQ.”

“I have been blessed to have incredible teammates throughout my career and I am fortunate that will continue here working with and learning from the very best in the industry,” said Ryan in a statement.

“As one of the NFL’s marquee quarterbacks for the past 15 years, we’re thrilled to add Matt to our talented roster of NFL analysts,” said CBS EVP Harold Bryant.

This comes after the nearly 38-year-old Ryan was cut from the Indianapolis Colts back in the middle of March. While the roster move does help the AFC South team avoid a potential $17 million-sized price tag, there is a $12 million stipulation potentially looming.

“Ryan technically has an obligation to seek NFL employment, and to not refuse reasonable opportunities to play. If he announces “I’m out,” the Colts could — in theory — try to not pay him,” ProFootballTalk reported.

Ryan forged a professional path in the NFL that includes an Offensive Rookie of the Year award, a Super Bowl appearance, a top 10 spot in touchdown passes and a top 5 position in passing completions. Now, the next time Ryan steps onto an NFL field, he will bring his experience to a whole new team.

Tom Brady has said he will allow himself to talk with other teams as he enters free agency. This is the first time in his NFL career that this will happen.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said it is unlikely that Brady and the Patriots reach a deal before free agency opens.

“While his process could still result in a return to New England it is far from certain at this point, “La Canfora said. “Brady intends to take a methodical approach to his first foray into free agency, as, at age 42, this will be the final contract of his playing career.”

Brady has repeatedly expressed his desire to play until he is 45, but frustration is slowly creeping in as the Patriots lacked a strong receiving corps this season.

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It is evident that Brady would like the opportunity to mentor a young quarterback to help leave a franchise in good shape when he retires.

Whatever the outcome, it seems only fair that Brady be allowed to explore his options for free agency. He has at least earned the right to hear other teams out, especially with his talent still evident at 42-years old.

Jack Whitaker, the legendary sports broadcaster who over nearly forty years covered a wide range of sporting events from the first Super Bowl in 1967 to Secratariat’s 1973 Triple Crown, died Sunday in his hometown of Devon, Pennsylvania. He was 95.

According to CBS Sports — where Whitaker’s career began and for whom he worked for 22 years — the former sportscaster died of natural causes in his sleep.

“There will never be another Jack Whitaker in sports broadcasting,” CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said in a statement. “His amazing writing ability, on-air presence and humanity are unmatched. His unique perspective on sports ranging from horse racing to golf to NFL football was extraordinary.”

Among the other major sporting events Whitaker covered throughout his career — which started in the 1950s — were the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 1984 and 1988, which he helped announce as a member of ABC Sports.

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Whitaker, who was also known for being a prolific essayist, had been the only remaining play-by-play announcer from the first 21 Super Bowls who was still alive.

In 1979, Whitaker was named Outstanding Sports Personality at the inaugural Sports Emmy Awards Gala. In 2012, he received the Emmy for Sports Lifetime Achievement Award and was also inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Whitaker also served in the United States Army during World War II and was injured in France just weeks after the D-Day invasion in 1944.

Whitaker is survived by his wife Patricia, sons Kevin, Gerry and Jack Whitaker III and daughters Ann Hanan and Marybeth Helgevold.  The late sportscaster also has 11 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. No funeral arrangements have yet been made for Whitaker, according to CBS.

Here are the many tributes to Whitaker on social media from around the sports world:

Legendary broadcaster Verne Lundquist will reportedly step down from his role as play-by-play announcer for SEC football on CBS Sports following the end of the 2016 season.

Verne Lundquist To Leave ‘SEC On CBS’ After 2016 Season

“[He’s] one of the iconic voices in our industry and has been for decades,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus told the Orlando Sentinel about Lundquist’s decision. “I really do believe he’s inherited the mantle left by Keith Jackson as the preeminent college football broadcaster in the country.

Lundquist, 75, has worked as the voice of the network’s SEC football coverage alongside analyst analyst Gary Danielson since 2000, and boasts a 53-year career in broadcasting.

Longtime ESPN announcer Brad Nessler, who has become one of the lead play-by-play voices for college football and college basketball coverage since joining ESPN in 1992, will replace Lundquist and join Danielson in the booth, as well as reporter Allie LaForce, starting in 2017. Nessler also served as play-by-play announcer for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package on NFL Network from 2011-13.

“Verne has set the standard for college football broadcasting,” McManus added. “Together with Gary Danielson, he has played a key role in making the SEC on CBS the highest-rated college football package in America. After an incredible 17 years, he will be handing the reigns off to Brad, who in his own right is highly acclaimed and respected as one of the premier play-by-play broadcasters in the business. I am very pleased that Verne will still have a prominent role in our college basketball and major championship golf coverage. We are fortunate to have one more football season to appreciate Verne’s one-of-a-kind storytelling as we pave the way for a seamless and smooth transition to Brad.”

Lundquist will continue to call college basketball, including the NCAA Tournament as well as the network’s coverage of major golf tournaments like the Masters and the PGA Championship.

“Being a part of the ‘SEC on CBS’ since 2000 has been the most significant assignment I’ve been given in my more than five decades in this business,” Lundquist said in a statement.  “Now, it’s time to step back and take in the aroma of those tulips, those roses, and those daffodils that friends have been telling me about for years. In 2017, I’ll happily step aside from college football and welcome Brad to the booth.”

In total, Lundquist has broadcast over 20 sports including track and field, swimming and diving, boxing, volleyball, gymnastics, soccer, weightlifting, freestyle skiing, archery, and horse racing, and was a regular member of the Network’s golf team (1983-95). Earlier this month, he was honored with the Sports Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2007, he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.

PHOTO: WASHINGTON – JANUARY 30: President of the United States Barack Obama talks to CBS annoucers Clark Kellogg and Verne Lundquist (right) during a college basketball game between Georgetown Hoyas and the Duke Blue Devils on January 30, 2010 at the Verizon Center in Washington DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)