Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the Olympics featured American Football? The United States would clearly dominate as the NFL is over 90% American born players and the sport is primarily played in the United States. Additionally, this wouldn’t be a realistic thing to happen in even the next summer Olympics because of the lack of players in other countries but it’s interesting to look at. These countries below are just made up of current NFL players born in other countries with some others I threw in there and I’m sure there are some current NFL players who could technically be eligible to compete for their country but that would be an impossible list to put together.
So, what countries could possibly compete with the U.S. by looking at current foreign born NFL players? The first country with the 3rd most NFL players would be Australia with 6 current NFL players. Unfortunately 4 of those are punters who are arguably the least important position in the NFL. The other two are defensive end Adam Gotsis and offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, so they could start to put together some kind of line if they each play both ways. Another Australian is former 49ers running back and rugby player Jarryd Hayne who could also play linebacker or safety on the other end, unfortunately he is in some legal trouble at the moment. And, if they really needed to, Australia could convert more rugby players to play football.
The next best country would probably be Nigeria, although it is close. Nigeria has 10 current NFL players but what they lack is skill position players. No NFL punters or kickers come from Nigeria but 8 lineman, 1 linebacker, and 1 wide receiver. Nigeria would lack skill players but wideout Nelson Agholor would highlight this roster and I’m sure a Nigerian soccer player would fill in as a serviceable punter/kicker.
Finally, probably the best country outside of the U.S. would be our cousin from the North, Canada. The Canadians have 13 current NFL players and a good mix of lineman and skill position players. The Canadian squad would be highlighted by wide receivers Chase Claypool of the Steelers and N’Keal Harry of the Patriots, both above average NFL wideouts. I’d love to see the rest of the roster filled out by some large hockey players who grew up in the country regions of Canada. I’m sure they could learn to hold their own against Jadaveon Clowney and Trent Williams in the trenches, eh?