What JJ Watt said about Harry Kane’s chances of making the NFL when he retires from football

Harry Kane’s post-soccer ambitions have long included a flirtation with the NFL, and the notion gained fresh credibility this week after three-time Defensive Player of the Year JJ Watt weighed in on the striker’s prospects of swapping Premier League goals for American-football uprights. Speaking in 2024, Watt told reporters that dismissing Kane’s dream out of hand would be a mistake, arguing that the England captain’s lifetime of striking footballs provides a transferable foundation for the specialist role of place-kicker.

“I think with true proper dedicated training, I think Harry Kane could make it as an NFL kicker,” Watt said, stressing that the caveat is a full-time commitment to mastering the mechanics and timing of the league’s most pressurised speciality position. “I think that his skill set, obviously having kicked balls for his entire life, then you put him with a proper kicking trainer, it’s going to go well.”

While optimistic, Watt was quick to caution against underestimating the craft. “I don’t want to diminish the job of a kicker because it’s an extremely difficult job,” he noted. “But somebody that does it at the highest level like Harry has, with proper training, I do think he’s good at it.”

Watt’s assessment is rooted in first-hand observation. During Manchester City’s 2022 pre-season tour of the United States, the former Houston Texans star staged an impromptu field-goal contest with City legend Sergio Aguero. The Argentine, renowned for his finishing prowess, drilled kicks from as far as 65 yards, prompting Watt to draw parallels between elite footballers and NFL specialists. “The only difference is that he would have taken a long run-up, whereas in the NFL you get 1.2 seconds from the time the ball is snapped, so you’ve got to take a two-step run-up and kick it, but he was pounding the ball through the upright,” Watt recalled.

That experience reinforced Watt’s belief that crossover athletes can succeed—provided they acclimate to the compressed timing and mental demands of the game. He stopped short of predicting Kane would reach the standard of Baltimore Ravens all-time great Justin Tucker, acknowledging Tucker as “the best kicker in NFL history,” yet maintained that a condensed, intensive pathway could yield results. “I do think that Harry could possibly, with three years of intensive everyday training, make an NFL roster, one of 32, because he’s had to do it his whole life,” Watt said.

In a light-hearted addendum, Watt mused that goalkeepers—accustomed to launching goal kicks—might possess an even smoother transition to the gridiron. Still, his endorsement of Kane remains the headline: a future Premier League all-time scorer turning Sunday league dreams into Monday Night Football reality is, in Watt’s eyes, a feasible—if formidable—challenge.