The NFL recently announced its decision to expand the practice squad for all 32 teams in the league starting in 2024 to feature one international player.
The goal is to “create more opportunities for talented athletes from around the world to be identified and developed in the game of football,” according to the NFL’s official statement.
This is the NFL’s latest effort to become an international sport. In 2017, they implemented a plan of action known as the International Player Pathway (IPP) program, which enabled one division to participate each year. This initiative was launched to give athletes around the world an opportunity to make it in the NFL.
Since IPP was first unveiled in 2017, 37 international players have been signed to an NFL roster, with 19 of them currently on an active NFL roster. Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is a product of the program and he has become a key cog in their offensive line, earning a four-year, $64 million contract extension.
Starting in 2024, the practice squad will consist of 17 players (currently 16) as long as one of said players is a “qualifying international player,” according to the NFL.
A qualifying international player can be defined as “a person whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States and Canada, and who have a maximum of two years of United States high school experience.”
It is great to see the NFL trying to globalize the sport. The injection of international should only benefit the NFL and improve the player pool, making for a more competitive league. There are plenty of talented athletes around the world who never get an opportunity to showcase their talents because of where they’re from.
