139kg Aussie monster adds to NFL ranks
The surging ranks of Australians in the NFL continue to swell with the Seattle Seahawks swooping on Queenslander Luke Felix-Fualalo.
The 200cm, 139kg monster from Brisbane will join fellow Aussie Michael Dickson in Seattle after being picked up as an undrafted rookie out of the University of Hawaii.
Felix-Fualalo, who was born in Brisbane but went to high school in California before beginning his college career in Utah, took part in Seattle's rookie minicamp last month as a tryout player.
A spot on the Seahawks roster the opened up after Seattle waived tight end Mitch Van Vooren on Friday, and Felix-Fualalo, an offensive lineman, was given his chance.
He joins a huge cohort of countrymen now in the NFL, with his deal coming after Laki Tasi signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in April. He came out of the international pathways program, which also helped former Wallabies backline star Jordan Petaia land a deal with the Las Angeles Chargers.
They are part of a growing number of non-punting Australians in the NFL, looking to follow in the footsteps of Super Bowl-winning Jordan Mailata, who has signed a $100m deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Felix-Fualalo's addition to the Seahawks roster also comes a week after Dickson signed a four-year, $25m contract extension with the team, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL.
But the cut-throat nature of the NFL has cost a couple of Australians their spots in 2025.
The San Francisco 49ers cut punter Mitch Wishnowsky, and more recently the Jacksonville Jaguars let go Patrick Murtagh, who failed to play a game after being signed first by the Detroit Lions, also via the international player pathway, before suffering an injury.
He then spent time with the Jaguars in 2024 and this off-season before being cut.
But the likes of Mailata, Daniel Faalele (Baltimore) and Adam Gotsis, who has played 126 games for four NFL teams and is now signed at Tampa Bay, continue to fly the Aussie flag along with a slew of punters including newly signed James Burnip, who joined fellow Aussie Matt Hayball at New Orleans.
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