The NFL has revealed the 14 athletes, representing 13 nations, who have been selected to join the 2025 International Pathway Programme (IPP), as the league continues to focus on creating more opportunities for talented overseas athletes to play football at the highest level.

Established in 2017, the IPP identifies elite global talent with the aim of providing selected athletes the opportunity to improve and develop their skills and, ultimately, earn a spot on an NFL roster. Philadelphia Eagles lineman Jordan Mailata remains the most successful Pathway participant, having played in a Super Bowl since joining the NFL with a rugby background honed in Australia, but others, among 23 IPP athletes currently on NFL rosters, have also found longevity in the league, including Jakob Johnson, Efe Obada, Sammis Reyes, Thomas Odukoya and David Bada, who have all featured on active rosters since 2017.

The program has historically welcomed athletes from diverse sporting backgrounds, including rugby, basketball, Gaelic football, track & field and more, and Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice-president of International, Events and Club Business, is impressed with the talent the IPP continues to attract.

“The Class of 2025 is an exciting one, and we are delighted to welcome these talented athletes from around the world to the International Player Pathway programme,” O’Reilly commented. “Focusing on our global football development efforts and fostering international talent is crucial to growing our game globally. The IPP offers life-changing opportunities for international talent, and we look forward to following their progress in the weeks and months ahead.”

Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit remains amongst the highest-profile graduates of recent times, having walked away from a prosperous rugby career to try his hand on the IPP before being picked up as a UDFA by the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs. Rees-Zammit currently resides on the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars and his views on the IPP’s worth are echoed by Mailata.

“I will forever be grateful to the IPP,” Mailata told ESPN back in 2022. “Whatever I can do after my time is done, if I can go back and work with them, work for them, I would love that. I would love to keep looking for international talent. I know there’s a hell of a lot of people down under that can play this game, but they need to be educated and they need to be taught.”

Starting in January 2025, athletes on the latest cohort are invited to train for 10 weeks at IMG Academy in Florida, learning the game both on the field and in the classroom, before showcasing their new-found skills in front of NFL club scouts as part of the University of South Florida’s Pro Day in March.

Players can be signed as a free agent or, if eligible, selected during the 2025 NFL Draft. Each NFL club is permitted one roster exemption for a qualifying international player from the start of the club’s offseason programme through the roster reduction to 53 players. At that time, qualifying international players are eligible to be signed to a 17th practice squad roster spot reserved for international athletes across any of the 32 teams.

The full list of 2025 programme participant is as follows:

Jordan Petaia (Australia)
Laitia Moceidreke (Australia)
Laki Tasi (Australia)
Jeneiro Wakeham (Fiji)
Joachim Trouabal (France)
Maceo Beard (France)
Leander Wiegand (Germany)
Aaron Sexton (Ireland)
Rojé Stona (Jamaica)
Nathaniel Salmon (New Zealand)
Paschal Ekeji Jr (Lesotho / Nigeria / South Africa)
Dante Barnett (United Kingdom)
Mapalo ‘Maz’ Mwansa (United Kingdom / Zambia)
TJ Maguranyanga (Zimbabwe)

A group of specialists, consisting of international kickers and punters, will also join the wider Class of 2025 in the coming weeks.