Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt and fans all got quite the scare this week. Watt ended up going to the hospital with chest pain and ended up with a partially collapsed lung (also known as a pneumothorax), according to his older brother J.J. The issue was seemingly caused by a dry needling treatment.

Our very own Dr. Melanie Friedlander provided a detailed look at what the injury was, as well as a look at dry needling treatment and what it’s intended to do. Thankfully, it looks like he should recover without issue. But this saga may not be over if the collapsed lung was indeed caused by his dry needling treatment. And that could lead to liability issues and potential legal implications.

Former NFL agent and former Vice President of Player Finance/General Counsel of the Green Bay Packers, Andrew Brandt, who was also a former legal analyst for ESPN, took some time on X/Twitter on Friday to break down the Watt situation a little more.

“For insertion around chest, there is some risk of pneumothorax that needs to be fully explained before treatment,” Brandt wrote. “Not clear w/ Steelers whether done by a trainer/employee or an outside contractor. Potential team and practitioner liability would be different, depending on which.”

For insertion around chest, there is some risk of pneumothorax that needs to be fully explained before treatment.
Not clear w/Steelers whether done by a trainer/employee or an outside contractor.
Potential team and practitioner liability would be different, depending on which.

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) December 12, 2025

While Brandt has not been actively working in the NFL for years, he is still very involved with sports law in general. He’s the executive director of Villanova University’s Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law. And Watt’s situation certainly falls under that umbrella.

But what exactly is Brandt saying here? He, like the rest of us, has no inside information about who was wielding the needle during the treatment that caused Watt to develop the pneumothorax. And that’s why he’s saying the liability would be different.

According to J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt’s dry needling treatment occurred at the Steelers’ facility. Now, that might immediately lead us to say that someone employed by the team performed the treatment. And that could make the Steelers (plus whoever provided the treatment) liable for Watt’s medical issue.

But someone responded to Brandt with the assertion that the Steelers’ training staff didn’t perform this treatment. Instead, it was the aforementioned “outside contractor.” Brandt did not unequivocally agree, but he seems to lean in that direction.

“Probably,” Brandt replied. “But if so, a bit surprised it was not done outside the Steelers’ facility.”

 

Probably. But if so, a bit surprised it was not done outside the Steelers’ facility.

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) December 12, 2025

Once again, Brandt doesn’t know who performed the treatment, nor does anyone here at Steelers Depot. This is speculation, though Brandt is familiar with players receiving treatment as a former NFL agent and the Packers’ general counsel. That may give him a better understanding than we have.

As for his follow-up statement, perhaps Brandt is surprised that someone not employed or contracted by the Steelers would perform this type of treatment in the team facility. Maybe that opens the Steelers up for a slightly different type of liability.

Regardless of who performed the treatment, WPXI Channel 11 in Pittsburgh reached out to the NFL Players Association after the news broke, and the NFLPA says it is “aware of the situation and has been in contact with T.J. and his representatives.” Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean the NFLPA is coming to Pittsburgh to investigate the facility. All it means is that the association is talking with Watt and his reps to figure out what happened. Once they’ve got the necessary information, then they’ll figure out how to proceed.

Watt will have the option to file a grievance with the NFLPA, and if he does, more information will likely come out about what happened to cause his injury. It’s unknown whether or not he will go down that route, but it is an option available to him.

Brandt said that the risk “needs to be fully explained before treatment.” If that explanation never happened, then that could lead to even more liability.

Unfortunately, the majority of the details regarding the circumstances of T.J. Watt’s pneumothorax are not public. And some of those details will probably never be made public, thanks to privacy laws. But if it was a team trainer or other employee who performed the treatment, the Steelers could be held responsible. If it were an outside contractor, perhaps someone Watt hired, then liability would shift to that person, at least in part.

But for right now, we just don’t know whose hand was on the needle that caused T.J. Watt’s pneumothorax. Either way, as Andrew Brandt is famous for saying on X/Twitter, “There will be lawyers.”