Texas woman tries to sell JJ Watt merch to fund grandpa’s funeral. Then, the NFL star stepped up

A teacher from Texas was forced to sell her precious JJ Watt sneakers and jersey to raise money for her grandfather's funeral. Jennifer Simpson took to X (formerly Twitter) to reach out to potential buyers. Given the fan following of the NFL legend, Simpson got several responses. But to her surprise one of the respondents was JJ Watt himself. The star offered a generous donation that won everyone's hearts. 

An emotional plea that reached the right person

Back in 2022, Simpson, 26, from Texas, shared on the social media platform that she and her family had been trying to raise money for her grandfather's funeral.  According to Houston Public Media, Simpson's grandpa's body was held at the Brookside Funeral Home & Memorial Park, where the family had a balance of $16,000. As per the local news outlet, they were able to pay off some of the amount but still fell short of a lot. 

Thus, Simpson who is a huge Houston Texans fan, decided to sell some of Texan legend's merchandise. In July 2022, she shared a post on Twitter with a couple of pictures of the Reebok sneakers. 

“I have a pair of @JJWatt women’s edition of Reebok shoes size 9 for $60," she wrote in the post. "I’m only selling them because we are raising money for my grandpa’s funeral. I also have a Watt women’s XL Texans Jersey for $30. Anyone interested?” she added in the post.

JJ Watt played for the Texans for 10 seasons and is considered to be one of the best to have ever played for the team. He is an all-time sack leader for the franchise with 101 sacks.

Given his popularity and Simpson's heart-touching story, the tweet quickly amassed hundreds of responses. Several people showed interest in buying the shoes, with no questions asked.

However, a few hours later, something unexpected happened. The tweet got a response from JJ Watts himself, who told Simpson not to sell the shoes. “Don’t sell your shoes and jersey, we’ll help with the funeral. I’m sorry for your loss," Watts wrote.

Naturally, Simpson was shocked to see the response. “I freaking love you, man. It’s been a hard year for me, and this last month has been hard since the death. I wish I could tell you my story,” she replied to Watt's comment. 

Simpson's aunt Tara Roderick told TODAY that she never expected her niece’s tweet would get so much attention and even catch Watt’s eye.

“We were just expecting that maybe another fan would want to buy that jersey or shoes,” she told TODAY Parents. 

She further shared that they were skeptical at first and didn't know if it was the real JJ Watts. However, their confusion soon cleared up and Simpson shared on X that her grandpa's funeral was paid in full with the help of JJ Watts and all other donations had been stopped. 

"I couldn’t have done it without the help of @JJWatt and all of you wonderful people!!" she wrote. 

In his time with the Texan team, Watt was known to be a dominant figure on the field. However, his legacy extends way beyond the field. Back in 2017, Watt led a campaign that raised over $41 million to support those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

He was named the 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for his philanthropic impact and excellence on the field. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the athlete and his wife donated over $350,000 to the Houston Food Bank, as per Click 2 Houston. Furthermore, his JJ Watt Foundation has provided over $6 million for after-school athletic programs.