International Player Pathway


The International Player Pathway is a program run by the National Football League to increase the number of non-American and non-Canadian players in the NFL. According to Mark Waller, the program is an important part of the NFL's overall strategy to grow internationally because it provides international athletes with the opportunity to play in the league which will increase the pool of talent, inspire others and ultimately drive fan growth.

Background

The International Player Pathway is not the first initiative by the NFL to introduce international talent into its pool of players and neither is it, as yet, the longest running. The first such program was the NFL International Development Practice Squad Program that ran between 2004 and 2009. Following a short hiatus of seven years there was a single incarnation of NFL Undiscovered in 2016 and building immediately on the success of that trial the IPP was instituted in 2017.

NFL International Development Practice Squad Program

The NFL International Practice Squad Program was an initiative run by the NFL in which selected players from outside the United States or Canada were assigned to the practice squads of NFL teams. The program began in 2004 and was concluded five years later in 2009 but during that time many players from a multitude of nations were given the opportunity to play in the NFL or other professional football leagues like the Arena Football League, the United Football League and the Canadian Football League.
Two British-born former NFL players Aden Durde and two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora were concerned that there were no clear pathways into the NFL for players who had not gone to high-school and/or college in the United States, and, as a result, the NFL was potentially missing out on some exceptional players. Wanting to remedy this, in early 2016, they used their personal and professional contracts from their time in the NFL to create a training program and to set-up meetings and try-outs with NFL teams for a small number of specially selected football players. These players' potential had been scouted primarily by watching YouTube videos. The initial group of players all lived, worked and played amateur football in Europe. At the time, the program was not yet officially named the International Player Pathway, but it was fully sanctioned and supported by the NFL. Additionally, the League had commissioned a mini-series documentary to be made, called NFL Undiscovered, that followed the participants of the program.

International Player Pathway

In 2017 the IPP was implemented with systems for choosing which division sponsors the program annually, as well as special regulations applying to the teams being assigned the players. The program has grown every year since its launch and, as of 2020, more than half of all NFL teams have signed international players as a direct result of the program.

Athlete eligibility and application

In 2017, potential applicants to NFL Undiscovered were asked to meet specific requirements and advised to follow a particular application process. These conditions were published widely through the media when they were released and are reproduced below, though these have either changed over time or there is some discretion applied during the selection process as not all the athletes that have come through the program in the intervening years meet all these criteria.
Applicants were asked to submit the following material via email to nfl.undiscovered at the NFL:

Roster regulations

The NFL has specific regulations for players that sign through the IPP. The teams to which each IPP player is assigned are allowed 91 players on their off-season rosters, one more than those teams that are not participating in the IPP that year. At the point when these rosters need to be cut to 53, the participating teams have several options open to them;
  1. assign their IPP player to their 53-man roster
  2. * the team can only have the usual 10-man practice squad
  3. assign their IPP player to their practice squad utilising the IPP exemption
  4. * like all players, the IPP player must first clear waivers before being assigned to the practice squad
  5. * the team can have an 11-man practice squad
  6. * the player cannot be called up to the 53-man roster that season but also cannot be claimed by another club
  7. assign their IPP player to their practice squad without utilising the IPP exemption
  8. * like all players, the IPP player must first clear waivers
  9. * the team can only have a regular 10-man practice squad
  10. * the player is a regular member of the practice squad so can be called up to the 53-man roster and can also be claimed by another club
  11. cut their IPP player after clearing waivers
  12. * the IPP player could be signed to another team's practice squad but they won't get the 11th man exemption for him

    History

The IPP began in 2017, when four players signed for NFL teams. The program was extended in 2018, and continued in 2019.

Summary of program and participants' achievements

#PlayerNationalityAge
entering
program		Previous
sport		NFL
season		Sponsoring
NFL division		NFL team
signed to		Football
position		Resulting contract
1'Football2016N/A
NFL Undiscovered		New York GiantsWide Receiver2016 – signed as a free agent then released during final roster cuts '
2017 – signed with Atlanta Falcons and again released at the end of pre-season
2'Football2016N/A
NFL Undiscovered		–Tight End–
3Football2016N/A
NFL Undiscovered		Minnesota VikingsWide Receiver2016 – drafted spent season on 10-man practice squad, '
2017 – waived by Vikings in September
4'Rugby Union2017NFC SouthAtlanta FalconsTight End2017 – 11th member of practice squad
2018 – signed to practice squad
2019 – on 2-year futures contract to 2020
5'Football2017NFC SouthNew Orleans SaintsDefensive End2017 – 11th member of practice squad
2018 – reserve/futures contract in January and to practice squad
6'Football2017NFC SouthTampa Bay BuccaneersLinebacker2017 – 11th member of practice squad
2018 – reserve/futures contract in January and to practice squad
7'Football2017NFC SouthCarolina PanthersDefensive End2017 – 11th member of practice squad
2018 – reserve/futures contract in January and to practice squad, '
2019 – signed 1-year contract
3Football2018AFC NorthCincinnati BengalsTight End2018 – 11th member of practice squad and reserve/futures contract
2019 – again assigned by NFL to roster as IPP
8'Football2018AFC NorthBaltimore RavensRunning Back2018 – 11th member of practice squad
2019 – re-signed
9'Rugby League2018AFC NorthPhiladelphia EaglesOffensive Tackle2018 – drafted 2018 ' signed 4-year contract, spent season on 53-man roster, injured reserve in December
2019 –
10'Football2018AFC NorthCleveland BrownsDefensive Back2018 – 11th member of practice squad
2019 – signed to reserve/futures list in January
11'Rugby Union2018AFC NorthPittsburgh SteelersTight End2018 – 11th member of practice squad, terminated in September
2019 – re-signed
12Football2019AFC East–Defensive End–
13'Football2019AFC East–Defensive End–
14'Rugby League2019AFC EastNew York JetsRunning Back2019 – assigned by NFL to roster as IPP and released at the end of the season. Returned to Australia and NRL to play for Queensland Cowboys
15'Football2019AFC EastNew England PatriotsFullback2019 – signed to 10-man practice squad then promoted to 53-man roster, ' then put on injured reserve list
2020 –
16'Football2019AFC EastMiami DolphinsDefensive Tackle2019 – assigned by NFL to roster as IPP
2020 – signed futures contract
17'Football2019AFC East–Linebacker–
18'Rugby Union2019AFC EastBuffalo BillsRunning Back2019 – assigned by NFL to roster as IPP
2020 – signed reserve/future contract
19'Football2020NFC EastDallas CowboysTackle2020 – assigned by NFL to roster as IPP
20'TBCFootball2020NFC East–TBC–
12Football2020NFC EastWashington RedskinsDefensive End2020 – assigned by NFL to roster as IPP
21'TBCFootball2020NFC East–TBC–
22'Football2020NFC EastPhiladelphia EaglesDefensive End2020 – assigned by NFL to roster as IPP
23' TBCFootball2020NFC East–TBC–
24'TBCFootball2020NFC East–TBC–
25'Football2020NFC EastNew York GiantsRunning Back2020 – assigned by NFL to roster as IPP
26'TBCFootball2020NFC East–Wide Receiver–
27'''TBCFootball2020NFC East–TBC–