1. Lafoga Jordan Mailata is an Australian professional American football offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and former rugby league player.
35 Facts About Jordan Mailata
1. 2.
Jordan Mailata previously played rugby league for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs under-18s team and the South Sydney Rabbitohs on their under-20s team.
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Jordan Mailata joined the NFL via the league's International Player Pathway Program and was selected in the seventh round, 233rd overall by the Eagles in the 2018 NFL draft.
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In 2025, Mailata was an integral part of the Eagles team that won Super Bowl LIX, the second title in the team's history.
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Jordan Mailata grew up playing rugby league for the Bankstown Bulls, and was selected for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' Under 18s team in 2015.
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Jordan Mailata went on hiatus from rugby league for over a year.
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Jordan Mailata was then offered the opportunity to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs' U20s team in 2017.
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The South Sydney coaching staff did not believe that Jordan Mailata would be able to physically keep up with the pace and nature of professional rugby league, due to the free-flowing play and limited stoppages in games.
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Jordan Mailata was given the advice from his agency to "play a sport that appreciates his size".
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Ultimately, Jordan Mailata declined the contract from the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
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Jordan Mailata had never played American football and admitted that his knowledge of the game was minimal, and stated that he would watch only one NFL game a year, the Super Bowl.
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Pre-draft scouting reports written about Jordan Mailata evaluated him as a "work in progress", and gave him the pro player comparison of then-Buffalo Bill OT Conor McDermott.
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In March 2018, Jordan Mailata attended a combine at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice facility, One Buc Place.
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Jordan Mailata received doubts from scouts through the NFL drafting process and combine, as his weaknesses were listed as "will require an extensive period of development to learn technique", and "has never played a single down of American football".
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Jordan Mailata was extremely quick for his frame, as he recorded a 5.12 second time in the 40-yard dash at the combine, the 7th-best time recorded for tackles at the February 2018 NFL combine.
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Jordan Mailata managed to record a 4.67-second time for the short shuttle, which would have equated to a top-10 score amongst left tackles at the official NFL combine.
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Additionally, Jordan Mailata was able to achieve 22 reps at the combine bench press.
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Jordan Mailata was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft.
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Jordan Mailata became the second player to be selected with no American high school or college experience, following the path of fellow rugby league convert Jarryd Hayne.
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Jordan Mailata signed a four-year deal worth $2.5 million with a signing bonus of $89,392.
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Jordan Mailata said that the biggest mental hurdle when transitioning from the rugby league to the NFL was the extensive playbook.
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Jordan Mailata made his first start for the Eagles in Week 4 of the 2020 season against the San Francisco 49ers, filling in for injured Jason Peters.
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On 2 January 2021, Jordan Mailata was deemed unable to play against Washington due to the concussion, ending Jordan Mailata's season playing in 15 appearances with 10 starts for the Eagles.
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Jordan Mailata ended the 2020 season as a top-15 offensive tackle in the NFL from Week 11, as graded by Pro Football Focus.
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Jordan Mailata led Eagles' offensive linemen in pass pro snaps with 502, equating to a pass pro snaps per sack score of 71.7, which was third-best on the team behind Lane Johnson and Jack Driscoll.
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On 31 August 2021, Eagles' head coach Nick Sirianni named Jordan Mailata the starting left tackle for the 2021 NFL season.
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Jordan Mailata's success has seen him frequently described by the media as a human "wrecking ball".
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On 4 April 2024, Jordan Mailata signed a three-year, $66 million extension that includes $48 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus.
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However, Jordan Mailata is the first Australian Super Bowl champion to start and play in a Super Bowl game, as Williams was on injured reserve.
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Since joining the Eagles, Jordan Mailata has been noted for his singing ability.
31.
In 2022, Jordan Mailata competed in season 7 of The Masked Singer as "Thingamabob" of Team Cuddly.
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Jordan Mailata was eliminated alongside Jorge Garcia as "Cyclops" of Team Bad.
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Jordan Mailata is the son of Samoan immigrants to Australia and was born in Bankstown, an area of Sydney characterised by its high concentration of Samoan immigrants.
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Jordan Mailata is sponsored by Australian clothing company Johnny Bigg, which specialises in clothes for people with large frames.
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In July 2023, Jordan Mailata married his longtime partner Niki Ikahihifo-Bender, a lawyer from Alaska.