Essendon captain Jobe Watson is proud his family’s name will continue to be associated with the club after he decided to sign a new dealthat will see him remain a Bomber until the end of 2017.

His father Tim played 307 games for the red and black after making his debut as a teenager.

Watson agreed to the new four-year deal on Wednesday and admitted he was keen to continue his family’s influence with the club.

“There is always times in your career where you have options,” Watson said on The Hangar.

“One of the things I will be really proud of when I finish is that the Watson name and the association with the Essendon Football Club has now been something that has been over a quarter of a century.”

“That will be special to my family I suppose in the years to come.”

Watson revealed there were rival offers on the table but he never seriously considered leaving the club he leads.

“In any situation there are always choices and there is a choice to go somewhere else and get paid more money.
“It is still a choice, it’s not as if someone is forcing you to do it.”

The Bombers captain has commended teammates Jake Carlisle and Dyson Heppell for already putting pen to paper.

Both players have already signed new deals despite strong interest from rival clubs.

“I think it has been really pleasing to see Jakey Carlisle and Dyson Heppell stay with the club because they do get better offers elsewhere but they choose to stay at the football club because they want to be here and want to be part of this playing group.”

Watson has played an important role over the last few months leading the playing group during the ongoing AFL/ASADA investigation into the club’s supplement program.

“I have been really proud of the way the team has led itself,” Watson said.

“I have been really pleased with the strength of the guys, I think while the situation is unprecedented the attitude and ability of guys to handle these kind of stresses has been something that has been really pleasing.”