Osi Umenyiora’s NFL Africa Initiative lands six Nigerian players on NFL rosters

| 2023 NFL International Player Pathway Program | 05/05/2023

The NFL announced today that eight international players have been given roster spots for the 2023 season via the league’s International Pathway Program, and six of them are from Nigeria and were discovered via Umenyiora’s The Uprise initiative, which hosted the first NFL Africa talent camp last year.

“To see these fantastic young Nigerian men achieve their dream to be on an NFL roster is incredibly exciting, and I am proud of how each one of them have worked incredibly hard to earn this moment. I cannot wait to see how they develop next season and in the years to come and know that everyone in Nigeria will be following their progress with pride.”

The six Nigerian players who will get NFL roster spots this year are defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi (Denver Broncos), offensive lineman Chukwuebuka Godrick (Kansas City Chiefs), defensive lineman David Ebuka Agoha (Las Vegas Raiders), defensive lineman Basil Chijioke Okoye (Los Angeles Chargers), offensive lineman Roy Mbaeteka (Chicago Bears) and defensive lineman Kenneth Odumegwu (Green Bay Packers).

Chukwuebuka Godrick, Basil Chijioke Okoye, and Kenneth Odumegwu were all former basketball players in Nigeria before being scouted for the gridiron by the The Adepitan brothers of Educational Basketball 

The NFL’s International Pathway Program will also give roster spots to Australian tight end Patrick Murtagh (Detroit Lions) and French defensive lineman Junior Aho (Minnesota Vikings).

The eight international players will be on their teams’ rosters through training camp, without counting toward the 90-player roster limit. It’s possible for them to earn a 53-player roster spot for the regular season, although it’s more likely they’ll land on the practice squad, they also won’t count toward the practice squad limit as per the NFL International Player Pathway exemption.

Alex is a former NCAA and semi-pro American football player who is now located in London, where he works in digital marketing. His goal in writing for AFI is to stay involved with the game that has given him so much. Alex enjoys covering leagues and