Notable participants
- Accurate as of the 2023 NFL season
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The International Player Pathway Program (IPP) is a program run by the National Football League (NFL) to increase the number of players from outside the United States or Canada in the NFL. The program was formed as part of the NFL's strategy to grow globally as it provides athletes with the opportunity to play in the league. Its aim is to increase the pool of talent and ultimately drive global fan growth. [1] [2]
The International Player Pathway Program was not the first initiative by the NFL to introduce foreign 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 IPPP was instituted in 2017. [3] [4] [5]
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 [6] and was concluded five years later in 2009 but during that time many players from a multitude of nations [7] 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 (NFLUK head of football development) 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 contacts from their time in the NFL to create a training program and to set up meetings and tryouts with NFL teams for a small number of specially selected football players. These players' potential had been scouted primarily by watching YouTube videos. [8] 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.
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 (19 of 32) of all NFL teams have signed international players as a direct result of the program.
In 2017, potential applicants to NFL Undiscovered were asked to meet specific requirements and were advised to follow a particular application process. [9] Some of these criteria 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 of the following criteria.
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 [10] 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 (at the end of pre-season), the participating teams must decide the status of their IPP players. [11] [12] [13]
First, the team can keep their IPP player on their 53-man roster. If they waive the player, he goes through the NFL's waiver system, which allows him to be claimed by another team. If he clears waivers, the team can sign the player to their practice squad. If they do, they may elect to take an exemption for the IPP player, giving them an extra spot on their practice squad. If they utilize the exemption, that player cannot be signed to the active roster of any team during the season, but starting in 2024 the player can be elevated for up to three games. [14] If the exemption is declined, the player is treated like any other practice squad player, and can be promoted to a team's active roster. If the player chooses to sign with a team other than the one to which he was assigned, that team may not claim the exemption.
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In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scout team by emulating an upcoming opponent's play style. Because the players on the practice squad are familiar with the team's plays and formations, the practice squad serves as a way to develop inexperienced players for promotion to the main roster. This is particularly important for professional gridiron football teams, which do not have formal minor league farm team affiliates to train players. In addition, it provides replacement players for the main roster when players are needed as the result of injuries or other roster moves, such as bereavement leave.
Aden Durde is a British American football coach and former linebacker who is the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 2021 to 2023.
Cassius Lee Marsh Sr. is a former American football linebacker. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at UCLA. He also played for the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears.
Brandon Dixon is a former American football cornerback. He was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at Northwest Missouri State.
Brian Allen is an American professional football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Utah. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft, and has also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Saints.
Demarcus Christmas is an American professional football defensive end for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Florida State. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Jakob Elijah Johnson is a German-American professional football fullback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee and signed with the New England Patriots in 2019 through the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. After three seasons in New England, Johnson played two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Linden Stephens is an American professional football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Cincinnati and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He has also been a member of several other NFL teams.
Hamilcar Rashed Jr. is an American professional football defensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Oregon State and in the NFL as a linebacker.
Tanner Muse is an American professional football linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Isaac Alarcón García is a Mexican professional American football offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) and joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 as a part of the league's International Player Pathway Program.
Matthew Leo is an Australian former American football defensive end and coach who is a player development assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa State and spent three seasons with the Eagles as a player, joining them through the International Player Pathway Program (IPPP).
Bernhard "Seiko" Seikovits is an Austrian professional football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Vienna Vikings of the Austrian Football League from 2017 until joining the Cardinals via the NFL's International Player Pathway Program in 2021.
David Bada is a German professional American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Munich, he played in the German Football League prior to spending four seasons with the Washington Commanders in the early 2020s as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway Program.
Cody White is an American professional football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State.
Aaron Donkor is a German-French professional American football linebacker for the Rhein Fire of the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football for Arkansas State and was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as part of the International Player Pathway Program in 2021.
Sandro Platzgummer is an Austrian professional American football running back who is currently playing for the Frankfurt Galaxy in the European League of Football. He previously played for the New York Giants in the NFL. In Europe he originally played for the AFL team of the Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Austria national American football team.
Maximilian Pircher is an Italian professional American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. Pircher began his professional career with the Swarco Raiders Tirol in the Austrian Football League in 2019. He signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2021.
Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi is a Nigerian professional football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He joined the NFL through the International Player Pathway Program (IPPP) and has been a member of the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, and the United Football League's (UFL) San Antonio Brahmas.
Kenneth Ikechukwu Odumegwu Jr. is a Nigerian professional American football defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Lagos, he attended the National Open University of Nigeria and played soccer and basketball before trying out American football in 2022. A participant of the NFL's International Player Pathway Program (IPPP), he began his professional career with the Green Bay Packers in 2023.
