Aussie Jordan Mailata remembers his first Super Bowl experience in 2016 – and it had nothing to do with the on-field action.
Mailata was a teenager at the time who dreamt of playing in the NRL, so he sat down and watched pop star Beyoncé perform at halftime before the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers.
In one of the great sporting journeys, fast forward almost a decade and the man from Condell Park in Sydney is now just one game away from owning a Super Bowl ring, provided his Philadelphia Eagles stun the highly fancied Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans.
Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland calls Mailata’s path to the holy grail of the NFL the ‘greatest story in football’ – and it is hard to argue.
Told by then Rabbitohs NRL coach Michael Maguire in 2017 it was unlikely he would play first grade due to the speed of the game, a shattered Mailata pondered his next move.
He worked odd jobs to keep his mind ticking over, be it at McDonald’s, Woolworths or on construction sites.
Jordan Mailata remembers his first Super Bowl experience in 2016 – and it had nothing to do with the on-field action (pictured, with partner Niki)
In 2017, Mailata was told by then Rabbitohs NRL coach Michael Maguire it was unlikely he would play first grade due to the fitness levels required (pictured, playing under-20s for South Sydney)
With nothing to lose, the man with Samoan heritage then boldly moved to Florida in 2018 to join the NFL’s International Player Pathway – an intense 10-week course on all things gridiron.
It involved both classroom and fieldwork, and clearly Mailata was paying attention.
He did enough to impress Jeff Stoutland, the offensive line coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, and was eventually the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round of the NFL draft that year.
Next Mailata signed a four-year deal worth $2.5million with a signing bonus of just under $90,000.
As his NFL career has continued to soar with Philadelphia, Mailata inked a $100million, three-year extension with the Eagles last year – and is now sponsored by the likes of Ford, First Trust Bank and Johnny Bigg.
Astonishingly, Mailata’s earning capacity could rise to $300million across his career – and Eagles teammate Landon Dickerson is in awe of the 27-year-old.
‘This is a guy – never having played football, being able to come in the league and within seven years, establish himself as, I believe, one of the best – if not the best – left tackles in the game right now,’ the fellow offensive lineman told CNN.
‘You know, people don’t really understand, right? A lot of us, we start playing football at four or five years old, so by the time you get to the league, you’ve had 16, 17 years of experience after College.
The towering athlete with Samoan heritage then boldly moved to Florida in 2018 to join the NFL’s International Player Pathway, which offers an intense 10-week course on all things gridiron (pictured right, in action recently for the Eagles)
He did enough to impress Jeff Stoutland (pictured) the offensive line coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Mailata was then the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round of the NFL draft
Mailata’s Eagles teammate Landon Dickerson labelled the Aussie’s sporting journey a ‘once-in-a-lifetime thing’
‘The ability he had…to be able to come in and start from nothing and learn and become what he’s become is extremely impressive.
‘Regardless of whatever sport you look at, you can go take his story and put it into any sport that becomes – you know, it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing.’
Mailata will become the first Aussie to play in a winning Super Bowl, but the second Aussie to earn one, should Philadelphia end Kansas City’s quest for a three-peat.
Jesse Williams got a ring with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 – but he didn’t play in the Super Bowl due to injury.
Play begins on Monday from 10.30am AEDT at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
