Former South Sydney lower-grader Jordan Mailata’s NFL stocks have skyrocketed after it was confirmed the Australian has secured a starting spot on the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line ahead of next week’s season opener against Atlanta, to be played on Monday morning (AEST).
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni revealed Mailata, 24, will be the starting left tackle for the Eagles when the NFL season gets under way after beating former first-round pick Andrew Dillard for the role.
Mailata, a former Rabbitohs under-20s prop who rejected a $5000 NRL contract in his quest to play NFL, was named in the Eagles 53-man final squad for the season, but more importantly, he’s been selected to protect the blindside of quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The role is seen as arguably the most crucial in the offensive-line. The highest earning left tackle in the NFL earns over AUD$30 million per season and the former league player could be in line for a huge payday if he can continue to elevate his play.
Mailata, currently earning $1.2 million a year, was a seventh-round pick back in 2018, and viewed as a long-term project. He played minutes off the bench in his debut last year as the Eagles offensive line was decimated by injury, yet his place in the team became uncertain when the 2017 Super Bowl winners changed coaches at the end of last season.
“Jordan will be our starter,” Sirianni said.
“Jordan had a great camp, Andre had a great camp. Andre missed some time and during that time, the chemistry with the offensive line was able to build.
“It’s a good problem for us to have. We have two left tackles that can really play and can start.
“Jordan did a good job winning that position, but I don’t want to short Andre at all. When he was in, he played really well. He played a phenomenal last pre-season game. I thought that was also the case in the Jets practices as well.
“You don’t just say, ‘Hey, here’s one game and here’s a splash game’ and we’re just doing everything based off of that. The whole body of work’s in play. I’m sure glad we have both those guys on this roster.”
Mailata proved he was the man for the job during training camp and solidified his position when Dillard went down injured. Dillard was selected in the first round in 2019 by the Eagles and was viewed as the long-term option for the team but the Eagles couldn’t deny Mailata’s form.
According to Eagles beat reporters, Dillard was clearly behind Mailata in the competition early in camp as the two rotated days with the starting offensive line but the injury put Mailata over the top.
His rise through the most brutal sport on the planet is movie-like. He rejected a contract from Souths to play for their feeder club North Sydney Bears, to chase an unlikely shot at playing in the NFL in one of the most crucial positions.
The 203cm, 157kg giant barely knew anything about the sport when he started, telling reporters in 2018: “Mate, as little as peanuts,“ but now he’s a starting left tackle in the NFL.
The elevation to the starting line-up puts Mailata on track for massive pay increase. While getting top money may be out of reach, the Sydneysider can still clean up.
For instance the fifth most expensive contract in the NFL at his position is worth $AUD95 million over three years. If he maintains his spot in the starting side, he could command that or even more for his next deal.
Mailata is one of seven Australians in the NFL and joins former St Kilda forward Arryn Siposs, who is also listed in the Eagles 53-man roster as the club’s main punter.
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