Olympic discus champion Roje Stona is the latest high-profile athlete to switch sports and attempt to establish a career in the NFL.
The 25-year-old, who won gold for Jamaica at Paris 2024, will attempt to make the NFL as part of the league’s International Player Pathway program, which aims to help athletes from other sports establish a career in American football.
Stona is far from a football novice. He was a track and field star at the University of Arkansas, where he also participated in their pro day, an event in which NFL teams assess potential players. Before Arkansas he attended football powerhouse Clemson, where he became a fan of the Tigers. He also trained at minicamps with the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers this spring. NFL scouts believe the 6ft 7in, 270lbs Stona would be a good fit on the defensive line or at tight end.
“After the Olympics, [the IPP] reached out again. I was like, ‘Yo, the door’s open’ again,” Stona told ESPN. “Of course, I’m take it. At the Olympics, I won gold, got a record. And after that offseason, they approached me again, so I took up the opportunity.”
While most athletes on the IPP program, which lasts 10 weeks, do not end up on an NFL team, there have been success stories. Most notable is Australia’s Jordan Mailata who started life as a rugby player before going through the IPP and becoming an established star with the Philadelphia Eagles. He recently signed a three-year, $66m contract extension with the Eagles. Aside from Mailata, four other IPP players are on active NFL rosters: Britain’s Efe Obada (Washington Commanders), Chile’s Sammis Reyes (Minnesota Vikings), the Netherlands’ Thomas Odukoya (Tennessee Titans) and Germany’s David Bada (Detroit Lions).
Other players on this year’s IPP include Australian rugby international Jordan Petaia and another rugby player, Ireland’s Aaron Sexton.
In January, Wales’s Louis Rees-Zammit gave up an international rugby career to enter the IPP. While he was initially picked up by the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, he is now on the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
