Derek Watt, Retired NFL Fullback: Career, the Watt Brothers, and What Came Next
Derek John Watt played seven seasons in the NFL as a fullback, appeared in 110 games, and retired in March 2024. He was never the star of the Watt family. That’s worth saying plainly, because the more interesting question is what it means to build a legitimate NFL career in a position the league has spent two decades trying to phase out, while two of your brothers are among the best players of their generation.
The Kid from Pewaukee
Born November 7, 1992, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Derek grew up in nearby Pewaukee with his older brother Justin (J.J.) and younger brother Travis (T.J.). Their father John worked as a firefighter. Their mother Connie held a position in building operations management. Neither parent played professional football. All three sons did.
Pewaukee sits about 25 miles west of Milwaukee. It’s a mid-size suburban town with about 13,000 people, the kind of place where kids play in the street and competitive sports start early. The Watt brothers played everything: roller hockey out front, football in the backyard, baseball, pickup hockey in the basement. John and Connie largely sent them outside and let competition do the rest.
Derek attended Pewaukee High School, where he played both ways. As a senior, he rushed for 1,506 yards and 25 touchdowns on offense while also recording 80 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and two sacks on defense. USA Today named him a High School All-American. The Associated Press named him Wisconsin Player of the Year. Pewaukee’s athletic department eventually retired his number alongside J.J.’s and T.J.’s.
Five Years at Wisconsin and a Position Change That Defined His Career
All three brothers committed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which made the Watt family something of a Wisconsin Badgers institution from 2009 through 2019. Derek enrolled in 2011 and played through 2015, a longer stint than either brother.
The interesting part: he arrived as a linebacker and left as a fullback. That transition, which happened during his first couple of years in Madison, tells you most of what you need to know about his NFL prospects. A fullback who can block like a linebacker is a specific type of useful. It’s not the kind of useful that gets you drafted in the first three rounds.
During his four active seasons with the Badgers, he accumulated 30 receptions for 309 yards. Modest numbers, but receptions aren’t really the point for a fullback. His job was to open holes for running backs, and one of those running backs was Melvin Gordon, who went on to become a first-round pick and a Pro Bowl selection. Gordon averaged 5.7 yards per carry in 2014, the year he broke Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record at Wisconsin. Derek was a significant reason those running lanes existed.
He won the Lowman Trophy in 2019 as one of the best college fullbacks in the nation, shared with teammates John Chenal and Mason Stokke. The award is presented by the Barstool Sports podcast Pardon My Take. It’s not the Heisman. But for a position that gets almost no individual recognition, it counts.
The 2016 Draft: Sixth Round, Pick 198
Pro Football Focus rated Derek the second-best fullback in the 2016 draft class. The San Diego Chargers selected him 198th overall, in the sixth round. For context, the 197th pick that year was a punter.
A hamstring issue limited his combine performance, but his numbers in agility drills compared favorably to tight ends and running backs, which matters at fullback. He signed with San Diego on May 10, 2016, and appeared in all 16 games as a rookie. He didn’t start often. He contributed on special teams and in the blocking packages. That was the job, and he did it.
Four Seasons in Los Angeles: Building a Case as a Special Teams Ace
The Chargers relocated to Los Angeles ahead of the 2017 season. Derek stayed on the roster through all four years (2016-2019), starting 13 of his 64 appearances. His offensive numbers during that stretch were limited by design: a fullback in a Philip Rivers passing offense is largely a blocker and a short-yardage option, not a featured ball-carrier.
What stands out from his Chargers tenure is the special teams work. In 2019, he tied for the NFL lead with 16 special teams tackles. He was also the only player that season with at least 12 special teams tackles and a rushing touchdown. Those aren’t glamorous statistics, but special teams coordinators around the league noticed. He was named a first alternate to the Pro Bowl that year.
There’s also a reasonable argument that his blocking directly benefited Melvin Gordon again. After Gordon rushed for just 641 yards in 2015 (the season before Derek joined the Chargers), Gordon averaged close to 1,000 rushing yards per season in 2016 and 2017, with his yards-per-carry climbing from 3.5 to 4.1. Correlation isn’t causation. But Derek spent three years blocking for Gordon at Wisconsin before they reunited in San Diego, and the timing lines up.
Philip Rivers, meanwhile, was routinely one of the least-sacked quarterbacks in the NFL during Derek’s four years with the franchise. Pass protection is the unglamorous half of the fullback job. Derek was good at it.
Signing with Pittsburgh: $9.75 Million and a Reunion With T.J.
On March 26, 2020, Derek signed a three-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers worth $9.75 million. At the time, only Kyle Juszczyk of the San Francisco 49ers earned more at the position annually.
The football logic was straightforward: the Steelers needed a fullback, Derek was one of the better ones available, and T.J. was already Pittsburgh’s star pass rusher. The personal logic was just as clear. Derek’s announcement post on Twitter read: “An iconic franchise, a legendary city AND the chance to play on the same team as my brother. Could not possibly be more excited for what’s ahead!”
He and T.J. had already played together at Pewaukee High School and at Wisconsin. Adding an NFL chapter to that arc wasn’t something either of them took for granted.
Week 2, 2020: A Punt Block, a Safety, and the Game Nobody Expected
In his second game as a Steeler, against the Denver Broncos, Derek blocked a punt that resulted in a safety. It’s the kind of play that never appears in any career highlight package but is exactly what a special teams ace gets paid to produce.
The more widely covered moment came in Week 3 of that same season, September 28, 2020, when the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Houston Texans. J.J. was in Houston’s defensive lineup. Derek and T.J. were in Pittsburgh’s. All three Watt brothers played in the same NFL game for the first and only time, which reportedly had not happened since 1927, when three siblings last suited up in the same professional football contest.
Pittsburgh won, 28-21. The family aspect drew far more coverage than the final score.
December 21, 2020 was less memorable in a good way. Covering a punt as a gunner, Derek was blocked into former Badgers teammate Alex Erickson and suffered a concussion. He missed time. He came back.
His Final NFL Seasons: Two Touchdowns in 2022 and the End of the Road
Derek’s 2022 season was statistically his best. He started three of 17 games and scored two touchdowns, including one on a trick play where wide receiver Chase Claypool took a handoff and threw to Derek against the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s the kind of play that works exactly once per offense, but it works.
After the 2022 season ended, no team signed him. He didn’t play in 2023. On March 12, 2024, he posted his retirement statement on X: “Dear football, what a ride it has been. Just a kid from Pewaukee, Wisconsin who had the chance to live out his childhood dream of being drafted and playing in the NFL.”
J.J. responded the same day: “Incredible career. Incredible man. Incredible brother.” T.J. posted on Instagram: “Very proud day!!!!”
Career totals: 110 games, 29 rushing attempts, 71 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 19 receptions, 179 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown. For a sixth-round fullback, making it to 110 games across two franchises over seven seasons is a real accomplishment. Most sixth-rounders don’t last three years. Derek lasted seven.
The Watt Brothers: Who Derek Is Within That Story
J.J. won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award three times (2012, 2014, 2015). T.J. has established himself as arguably the best pass rusher of his era, recording a single-season sack record of 22.5 in 2021. Their combined contracts, endorsements, and public profiles dwarf Derek’s by any measure.
What doesn’t get said often enough: Derek was the one who made the transition from linebacker to fullback and accepted a role that guaranteed he’d never be the famous one, even in his own family. That’s a specific kind of self-awareness. Most athletes with his bloodline and his high school credentials would have pushed to stay at a more visible position. He assessed what he could do at the professional level and adjusted.
The three of them hosting Ultimate Tag on FOX in 2020 was the clearest public signal that the brothers functioned as a unit off the field, not just as competitors. The Subway commercial that same year, featuring all five family members including John and Connie, played nationally and was genuinely well-received. Derek appeared in both as himself, not as a supporting character in J.J.’s story.
Personal Life: Gabriella, Three Children, and Life in Wisconsin
Derek married Gabriella Justin in February 2018 at a ceremony in Miami. Gabriella works as a real estate agent in Wisconsin. Their first son, Logan James Watt, was born in February 2019. Their second, Brayden George Watt, arrived in December 2020, roughly a week after Derek’s concussion. Their daughter, Isabella Grace Watt, was born in April 2025.
Derek’s Instagram account (@wattsup34) has around 272,000 followers. His bio currently reads: “Proud Husband. Father of Logan, Brayden, and Bella. Retired NFL Fullback. Wisconsin Football Alumni.” The order of those things is probably intentional.
Derek Watt’s Net Worth: What Seven NFL Seasons Earned Him
Estimated net worth as of 2024: approximately $3 million. His Steelers contract alone was worth $9.75 million over three years, which represents the bulk of his career earnings. His base salary in Pittsburgh was $990,000 annually, with a signing bonus on top.
For comparison, T.J.’s net worth is estimated around $10 million, and J.J.’s significantly more given a decade as the league’s highest-paid defensive player through much of the 2010s. Derek’s financial outcome is what a reliable, non-star seventh-season fullback earns. It’s not a complaint. The median NFL career lasts fewer than four years. Derek’s lasted seven.
Endorsements contributed a smaller slice: the Subway campaign with his family, a few regional brand associations during his career. Nothing that moved the number dramatically.
Where the Fullback Position Stands Now
This is the part that doesn’t quite add up when you look at Derek’s career from the outside. He was, by most accounts, one of the better fullbacks in the NFL during his seven seasons. Pro Football Focus had him as the second-best fullback prospect in his entire draft class. He tied for the league lead in special teams tackles in 2019. He was a first alternate Pro Bowl selection.
And yet there are no second contracts at $4 million per year, no late-career renaissance with a contender, no run at a tenth season. That’s not specific to Derek. The fullback position has been contracting since roughly 2010, as offensive coordinators shifted to spread formations and four-receiver sets. Teams that once carried two fullbacks now carry one. Some carry none. Kyle Juszczyk is an outlier, kept relevant partly because of the 49ers’ specific offensive scheme and partly because he’s an exceptional athlete at the position.
Derek played the position well for as long as it made sense to employ him. When no team offered a contract after 2022, that was less a judgment on him than a structural reality about where the NFL was going.
His retirement statement described 110 career games and lifelong friendships. That’s not a spin on disappointment. For a sixth-round fullback from a mid-size Wisconsin town, it’s a complete story.
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