Charlie Elliott: The best players to move from rugby to the NFL

By Charlie Elliott

For exclusive stories and all the detailed rugby news you need, subscribe to The Rugby Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.

Plenty of players have code-switched between the different types of rugby, but a less trodden path is that of those who have gone from rugby to the NFL. 

Following the news that Wallabies star Jordan Petaia has signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, the discussion on the link between the two sports is heightened more than ever. 

The International Player Program (IPP) has opened doors for players from across the world to try their hand at football, and given the shared physical link between the sports, it is a logical step that we may see being replicated more in future. 

Here are five of the most successful switches between rugby and the NFL:

Jordan Mailata (Rugby League) 

By far the most successful switch from rugby to American football, Mailata made the switch from an NRL academy to an NFL academy in 2018, and hasn’t looked back since. 

A prop in the South Sydney Rabbitohs academy originally, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted him as an offensive tackle. 

Described as a “human wrecking ball” by his coaches, Mailata is now one of the best-paid offensive tackles in the entire league, after he signed a three-year, $66 million contract in 2024. 

The highlight of his career in America came in February of this year, when his Eagles side were crowned Super Bowl champions after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. 

Nate Ebner 

Perhaps a slightly tenuous link given that he didn’t play professional rugby at all, Ebner still makes it onto this list as a successful switch. 

Surprisingly, three-time Super Bowl winner Nate Ebner was actually a rugby union and sevens player before pursuing a career in football. 

He became the youngest player to ever play sevens for the USA, at age 17. 

After finishing high school, he decided to try his hand at professional football, taking the college football route with the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

His main reason behind switching was a lack of a professional rugby system in the USA at the time, which also begs the question as to how many players have slipped through the cracks in the past. 

A safety in the NFL for the New England Patriots and New York Giants, Ebner won all three of his Super Bowls with the former.

Daniel Adongo 

Kenyan-born Adongo was one of the originals who made the switch, doing so in 2013 when he joined the Indianapolis Colts from the Southern Kings. 

His career started off in his native Kenya before scouts from South African side Sharks discovered his sheer size and physicality and signed him up. 

A few years for various Currie Cup teams followed between 2011 and 2013. 

He played as a lock in rugby, his position for the Colts was outside linebacker. 

One of the most successful switches of all time by virtue of having featured in the NFL, he played two games but didn’t manage to record a tackle in either. 

Adongo was waived late in 2015 after the police got involved with an off-field incident, and he hasn’t played professional sport since then. 

Louis Rees-Zammit 

One of the most high-profile switches from rugby union to the NFL swapped Gloucester for Kansas City at the start of 2024. 

A rapid winger for the Cherry and Whites, he was quickly becoming a fan favourite at club level and for his native Wales before he went stateside. 

After bursting onto the rugby scene at only 18 years old in 2019, a couple of injury-ridden years in 2022 and 2023 led him to reconsider his options. 

He confirmed his intention to join the NFL through the International Player Program (IPP) in January 2024 and was considered among the fastest players in the league before he had even made his debut. 

By March of the same year, he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as a running back, but he only made three pre-season appearances before being cut from the main squad. 

Later that year, he transferred to the Jacksonville Jaguars, switching positions to wide receiver.  

Since then, Rees-Zammit has been signed to the active roster and has a real chance of making his full NFL debut. 

Christian Wade 

The newly crowned holder of the most hat-tricks in Premiership history, and only 13 away from breaking the record for most tries, it is safe to say that Wade will go down as one of the best scorers in Prem history. 

Which makes it even more absurd that he took a three-year hiatus to play in the NFL. 

The former Wasps winger was another who played at a running back in America, but also another who didn’t make an appearance in the NFL. 

Between 2019 and 2022, Wade was in the practice squad at the Buffalo Bills but wasn’t elected as part of the active roster. 

It looked very promising after he scored a 65-yard touchdown in his first preseason game, but sadly, he couldn’t kick on. 

Following his release, he went to Top 14 side Racing 92 before being signed by Gloucester at the start of this season, where he has had a remarkable year so far.