Pat McAfee pledges $500K to charity if Steelers’ TJ Watt breaks this NFL record

Sports media personality and former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee has a proposition for the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end T.J. Watt. 

McAfee said that he would donate $500,000 to the charity of Watt’s choice if the stud edge rusher breaks the record for most sacks in a single season in NFL history. 

It is a record that Watt is all too familiar with; he co-owns it with New York Giants legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan at 22.5 sacks in one season. 

After leading the NFL in sacks in 2020 with 15, Watt did not just follow it up in 2021 – he blew it out of the water. 

The overall record was on serious notice that season, as Watt continued to take quarterbacks to the turf. When he totaled four sacks against the Cleveland Browns in Week 16, everyone was on the edge of their seats to see what he would do against the Baltimore Ravens.

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Of course, trying to get quarterback Lamar Jackson to the ground is extremely hard, but Watt was able to secure one sack to tie the record in Week 17. However, that was all he would get, as the Steelers would win the game, 16-13. 

Today, Watt is looking for a big bounce-back season in 2023, as an injury-riddled campaign last year led to just 5.5 sacks over 10 games. 

The Steelers and Watt have noted him looking happy and healthy at training camp this summer, and Watt now has even more incentive to break out once again when it is his turn to rush the passer this season. 

Watt, the younger brother of now-retired legendary defensive end J.J. Watt, is a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro in his six seasons with the Steelers. 

He has totaled 77.5 sacks already in his career, which puts him 84th on the all-time NFL list.