Denmark’s Hjalte Froholdt, the starting center for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, has joined the newest member of the European League of Football, the Nordic Storm, as a co-owner and ambassador for the team and the league.
“American football has been my passion since I started playing in my home country of Denmark. It has led me on this incredible journey to the NFL and I am very excited to promote the game in my home country in the role of co-owner and ambassador at Nordic Storm. This project is not just about creating a professional franchise. It’s about creating a movement in Denmark, in Sweden and the entire region. Nordic Storm helps to publicize our passion and love for American football and show the whole world what we can do.*
Originally a fourth round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft, Froholdt’s journey has then taken him through the Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns and now the Cardinals.
The 28 year old originally signed with the Cardinals in 2023 and started all 17 games in his first season with Arizona. He turned in a very underrated showing, allowing just three sacks and four QB hits operating with multiple starting signal callers.
Froholdt spent the previous two seasons with the Browns. In 2022, Froholdt played in all 17 games for the Browns, starting six, four at center and two at right guard. Interestingly, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was quarterbacks coach for the Browns during the 2022 season.
The had been picked up by Cleveland from the Houston Texans practice squad in October 2021. Froholdt had been placed on waivers by the Patriots until November 202o when Houston picked him up.
Froholdt’s selection in the 2019 Draft marked only the second time in history that a Dane has been drafted in the NFL. The first was Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen in the 1982 NFL Draft. He too was picked in the fourth round.
The 6’5″, 310 pound native of Svendborg, Denmark who played football in his native country for the Søllerød Gold Diggers, first went to the United States as an exchange student in 2013. He landed in Ohio where he started playing football to make friends but excelled and moved to the IMG Academy in Florida towards the end of his high school career. He earned a 4-star recruiting grade there and after offers from a number of major schools ended up in Arkansas where he played guard and center.
Palle Navntoft Christensen, General Manager of the Storm:
“We are very happy to have Hjalte Froholdt, a superstar of our sport, as co-owner and ambassador for our franchise. He believes in our mission and will help us achieve our big goals in the European League of Football. Hjalte Froholdt is an idol for the players and fans in Scandinavia and we are convinced that he will make a big impact.”