Cardinals JJ Watt offers to pay for funeral so fan can keep her memorabilia

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Arizona Cardinals JJ Watt continues to give back to his Houston community through a heartwarming gesture. On Wednesday, Jennifer Simpson, a Houston Texans fan, tweeted she was selling her JJ Watt women’s Reebok shoes and a Watt Texans jersey to raise money for her grandfather’s funeral. Watt decided to step in after seeing the tweet, telling her to keep her stuff. “We’ll help with the funeral. I’m sorry for your loss,” Watt tweeted.

“I freaking love you man,” replied Simpson. “It’s been a hard year for me.” She said this past month has been especially rough and she wishes she could tell him her story.

Watt has done philanthropy work in both Texas and Arizona. One of Watt’s most notable generous gestures was when he raised over $37 million for Houston residents affected by Hurricane Harvey nearly five years ago. The fundraising efforts earned Watts the 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year award, which goes to a player dedicated to philanthropy work and giving back to the community.

Don’t sell your shoes and jersey, we’ll help with the funeral.

I’m sorry for your loss.

🙏🏼 https://t.co/gMttmVGZCL
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 21, 2022