Three UK Players Selected to Compete for NFL Roster Spot

Thirteen athletes from nine countries have been selected to compete for a spot in the 2022 International Player Pathway program, the NFL has announced.

The group includes three players from the United Kingdom: defensive end Adedayo Odeleye and linebacker Ayo Oyelola, who were both in the program’s training camp last year, and offensive lineman Bamidele Olaseni, who has been playing at the University of Utah.

Instituted in 2017, the program aims to provide elite international athletes the opportunity to compete at the NFL level, improve their skills, and ultimately earn a spot on an NFL roster. This season, two players who entered the NFL through the IPP program, Jakob Johnson of the New England Patriots and Jordan Mailata of the Philadelphia Eagles, recorded their 1,000th career snap. They join Efe Obada of the Buffalo Bills in IPP players to reach this milestone in their NFL career.

Given the program’s success to date, the NFL widened its search for international talent, hosting Combines in England and Mexico this past October with 56 players from 16 countries participating. The league has identified top athletes from nine countries that will compete for a place in the program.

Since being in last year’s training camps, Odeleye, who attended Loughborough University, has been playing for the Berlin Thunder in the European League of Football, with Oyelola, who attended the University of Nottingham, signing for the Canadian Football League’’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Olaseni, who played for the London Blitz at under-19 level, was named as a second-team All-Pac 12 selection after starting 10 games at left tackle for the Utes during the past NCAA season.

Players will begin training in the United States next month and will have the opportunity to showcase their talents to NFL club scouts in March in hopes of being signed as a free agent or being selected for allocation to a practice squad for next season through the International Player Pathway program.

One of the NFL’s eight divisions, to be chosen at random, will receive the international players selected for the 2022 program should they not be signed to free agent contracts. At the conclusion of training camp, each player will be eligible for an international player practice squad exemption with his assigned team. This grants the assigned team an extra practice squad member. Under certain parameters, players can also be elevated to the active roster during the regular season.

“The International Player Pathway program is an important part of our ongoing efforts to help ensure the best athletes in the world are playing in the NFL – regardless of their country of origin,” said Damani Leech, NFL Chief Operating Officer of International. “We are excited to have players from around the world competing for a spot in the 2022 program.”

Players taking part in the program:

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