"It took almost two years to make. It seems like it's just a shirt and some shorts." That's JJ Watt on Burnley's new away kit — and it tells you everything about how seriously the man takes this.
The NFL legend, who bought a minority stake in Burnley in 2023 alongside his wife Kealia, has unveiled the club's cream 2026-27 away strip — a kit he designed himself from start to finish. Old crest, Gawthorpe Hall-inspired pattern, lettering pulled from vintage matchday programmes. While everyone else chases minimalism, Watt went the other direction: detail, heritage, texture.
He's also the star of the launch campaign, playing on his NFL nickname "The Milkman" — because he always delivered. It lands better than most football shirt videos have any right to.
This Is Not a Vanity Project
Watt has pre-empted the obvious question — celebrity ownership as brand exercise — and he's blunt about it. "I've absolutely put money in. A significant amount of money. Trust me, this is both a passion project and a business endeavour." There's no ambiguity there. He's not turning up for photos and posting highlights. He's in the boardroom, on the training pitch, and now, apparently, in the design studio.
What brought him to Burnley in the first place was surprisingly human. He visited, clocked a small Lancashire town that reminded him of Wisconsin, and fell for it. That's it. No grand commercial strategy. Just a man who wanted to fill the void left by retiring from the NFL and chose Turf Moor over a franchise back home.
The returns haven't been clean. Two Premier League relegations since he came on board. Watt doesn't dress it up — "the fans are frustrated by the up and down" — and he's clear-eyed about why the cycle keeps repeating. Every transfer has to land. There's no margin for a £20 million flop when you're fighting at the bottom of the top flight. One miss can send you straight back down.
Nicky Hayen and the Search for an Identity
New head coach Nicky Hayen, who built a strong record at Club Brugge, arrived on the same day Burnley played a friendly against FC Cincinnati in the US. First words to Watt: "How do you feel about training twice a day?" Watt, predictably, loved it.
After two Premier League experiments — one built on youth under Vincent Kompany, one leaning on experience and defensive structure — neither of which worked, Hayen represents a third attempt at finding the right formula. High press, front-foot football, relentless work rate. Watt's analogy is a decent one: "You're making a cake, and you have to find the right ingredients."
The Championship this season is not a formality. Burnley have won it with 100 points twice, but Watt is explicit that promotion cannot be assumed. The competition has tightened, expectations from supporters have paradoxically made each win feel smaller, and the squad is still searching for the identity Hayen is trying to install. Championship promotion odds on Burnley reflect their pedigree — but pedigree doesn't guarantee anything in a division that has chewed up better-resourced clubs.
Watt wants what the Dyche era had: a team that made Turf Moor feel like somewhere opponents genuinely didn't want to visit on a wet Tuesday. That's the standard. Whether Hayen can rebuild that while also modernising the way the club plays is the question the 2025-26 season will answer.
