The NFL International Player Pathway Program and More Ways to Scout Talent

by Richard Janvrin, February 26, 2025

Player scoring a touchdown in a football game

When you do any wagering at NFL betting sites you may not know it, but there could be some players from all of the world playing on the team you laid some money down on.

While the NFL mainly looks to college football for their next crop of talent, they certainly don’t limit it to just there.

The NFL identifies talent in many ways, including the NFL International Player Pathway Program, which aims to find players around the world and determine whether they have what it takes to make an NFL roster.

However, that isn’t the only way.

Below, we’ll discuss the numerous ways NFL scouts search for talent worldwide and examine if any players have made an impact on teams throughout the years.

Let’s dive in.

The NFL International Player Pathway Program (IPP)
NFL International Combine
International Development Leagues
College Football
Scouting Rugby Stars
Social Media

The NFL International Player Pathway Program (IPP)

The NFL International Player Pathway Program, or IPP, helps the league identify talent outside of the United States and Canada.

This program came after the NFL’s International Development Practice Squad Program, which went from 2004 to 2009

Prospective players must meet some requirements, including being 24 or younger, having been out of high school for at least four years, having not played football at a US college, being able to speak English, not being a citizen of the US or Canada, and more.

Several foreign players in the NFL have come through the program, including current Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata, who’s easily the best player to ever come out of the program.

In the 2024 season, he allowed just two sacks.

Ahead of the 2024 season, the Kansas City Chiefs signed a player from the program, Louis Rees-Zammit, from Wales. He was cut by the team ahead of the season. The Jacksonville Jaguars then picked him up, but his contract has since expired, and he is a free agent.

How many foreign players are in the NFL now? As of the 2023 season, there were more than 330 players and coaches from about 70 countries worldwide.

NFL International Combine

The NFL International Combine is an event to assess some potential talent for the NFL International Player Pathway Program. This is how many foreign players in the NFL get their start.

Players attending the event will go through drills and must meet the same requirements as those participating in the IPP.

This is a lot like the NFL Scouting Combine before the draft. Instead, if they make it through, they land on the IPP and then look to make an NFL roster.

International Development Leagues

There are several international leagues that play American Football, including the European League of Football and the German Football League.

The German Football League was founded in 1979, and the European League of Football was founded in 2021.

While there haven’t been any notable players from the German Football League yet, we did see Dallas Cowboys kicker returner KaVontae Turpin come over from the Panthers Wroclaw, a team in the ELF. He played college football at TCU but went undrafted in 2019. He’s been on the Cowboys since 2022.

Also, there’s the Canadian Football League. While it’s not considered a “developmental” league, there have been some players, like New York Jets cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers, a native of America who played in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts.

College Football

The NFL scouts all talent in the college football ranks, but many times, college programs recruit international players to play for their school. This allows the NFL to inadvertently scout international talent. Remember, players in the NFL International Player Pathway program cannot have any college football experience.

There have been a number of big-time players from other countries to play college football, including Bronko Nagurski (Canada), Hines Ward (South Korea), Sebastian Vollmer (Germany), Chase Claypool (Canada), Jevon Holland (Canada), and many more.

Scouting Rugby Stars

This one is kind of a combination between scouting their players and the IPP. Players like Mailata, Daniel Adongo, Sav Rocca, Jarryd Hayne, and more have made the switch from rugby into the NFL.

Again, Mailata is easily the best of the bunch. He’s currently signed to a three-year, $66 million deal which is set to expire after the 2028 season.

This is really the case for all prospective NFL players, but the league heavily utilizes social media to keep up with players for not only physical conditioning but also how they behave off the field.

That said, it’s not uncommon for players to get noticed on social media and be given a chance to showcase their skills. This can also lead to them joining the NFL International Player Pathway Program.

Once again, Mailata was found through his rugby highlights online, and other players like Emmanuel Duron from Mexico were given a tryout. Alfredo Gutierrez of Mexico posted football drills on Instagram and caught the attention of the NFL’s Mexico scouting group, and there have been many other players.