How NFL’s league is finding talent in unexpected places

Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata

The NFL’s search for elite talent has taken scouts far beyond the football fields of the United States and Canada.

Basketball courts and soccer, rugby and Gaelic football pitches in such places as Australia, Germany, Ireland, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe have become breeding grounds for potential running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, linebackers and offensive and defensive linemen.

The NFL started its International Player Pathway (IPP) program in 2017 to identify athletes who show promise as potential professional American football players, but otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to enter the league.

“These are the athletes,” said Pat Long, the NFL’s director of international football development, “who, even without a whole top order high school, NCAA run up, still have that potential to make the transition and jump up into being an NFL-caliber, at that point, no longer just an athlete but a player.”

When the IPP program began, the NFL allocated international athletes to just one division. It has steadily grown and, starting in 2024, all 32 NFL teams have been eligible to add one international player to their practice squad.

Who qualifies for the IPP?

An athlete whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States and Canada and has a maximum of two years of high school experience in the U.S. can qualify for the program. They also have to satisfy all NFL player eligibility rules and have been eligible for a previous NFL draft. They can also play any position, from quarterback to punter.

“These guys being able to have this experience and then being able to leverage this experience to move forward as a leader in their community, I think is really cool,” said Skyler Fulton, the NFL’s head of the International Player Pathway program. “And that’s probably the part of the IPP program that doesn’t really get a lot of attention is this isn’t judged on how many guys make it to the NFL. It’s judged on how many lives are we changing?”

How do they join the program?

The journeys for players often start by word of mouth, with athletes sometimes even contacting the NFL looking for an opportunity.

Helped in large part by Mark Dulgerian, the NFL’s director of international scouting, the league scouts players, builds a database of prospects from around the world and holds regional workouts — similar to the NFL combine held in Indianapolis before the draft — and film sessions in places such as Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, as well as Mexico, Africa, South and Central America and Australia/New Zealand.

What comes next?

The list is whittled down and a small group of athletes is selected for the program — 13 from 12 nations were in the 2025 class — and invited to train in American football starting in January at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

“What that entails is a 10-week intensive training camp where they’re really living, breathing, sleeping, eating football,” Long said.

Some will participate in the NFL combine in Indianapolis, where kicking specialists are invited to join as members of that year’s IPP class. Athletes also showcase their skills in the University of South Florida’s pro day in March, where they’ll be seen by NFL team scouts.

Players can then be drafted, if eligible, by NFL teams or signed as free agents. Each team is allowed one roster exemption for an international player during the offseason and that player can then be signed to an exempt 17th roster spot on the practice squad in the regular season. DENNIS WASZAK Jr., Pro Football Writer, MDT/AP