Scottish NFL player who signed eye-watering $10m contract reveals teammate now a LORD after purchasing Scots land
HAMMER TIME Scottish NFL player who signed eye-watering $10m contract reveals teammate now a LORD after purchasing Scots land
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JAMIE GILLAN has revealed how teammate Casey Kreiter became a Fife landowner to embrace the Scottish scene at New York Giants.
Gillan - nicknamed 'The Scottish Hammer' - is back preparing for his seventh season as an NFL punter.
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Jamie Gillan is leading a Scottish revolution with NFL side New York Giants
Credit: Getty
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Arbroath-born veteran Graham Gano is also a member of the Giants kicking corps
Credit: Getty
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Casey Kreiter (centre) has even purchased Scottish land to fit in with his teammates
Credit: AP
He's set for a fourth campaign in the Giants kicking corps alongside Arbroath-born veteran Graham Gano.
Jude McAtamney from Derry in Northern Ireland was Gano's back-up last season.
All of which made long-snapper Kreiter, from Iowa, the odd man out as a non-Brit.
But Kreiter made sure he'll always have a piece of Scotland - much to the amusement of Gillan, who hails from Forres.
Gillan, 27, said: 'I would say Graham is like family. I absolutely love that guy.
'Same with Jude who's fitted right in with this little band that we have going on.
'That's three foreigners and Casey, who even bought a square foot of land in Scotland - just so he can be one of us!
'He came into the lunch hall one day and said: 'Hey, just want to let you know you can call me Lord Kreiter from now on'.
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'He's got the certificate. And he even changed his locker room nameplate to 'Lord Kreiter'!
'It's great, you've got to have fun because game days can be stressful.
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'It's important to create this atmosphere in our little room of three or four guys by laughing and joking at the right time.
'We all rely on each other to do our jobs perfectly for one guy to do their job well.'
Gillan, whose NFL career began at Cleveland Browns, has penned a new $10m three-year contract with the Giants.
He's established as one of the league's top punters - 12 years after first starting American football in high school in Maryland.
His RAF squadron leader dad Colin had uprooted the family from the Highlands following a job transfer to the States.
Gillan is now dad to two-year-old Archie and his Ohio wife Casey is expecting their second son this summer.
He's living the American dream but his sporting roots from Scotland will never leave him.
The former teen rugby star for Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh loves educating pals and teammates about his first love.
'I'm looking forward to the Lions tour coming up and I watch the Six Nations every year,' said Gillan.
'Rugby is hard to get live out here but the Six Nations is streamed on Peacock, which is great.
'I get my buddies over to the house; we cook up a big breakfast and the first game starts at 9am.
'There's a few who have a rugby team Cleveland and enjoy it as well.
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Punter Gillan was a teen rugby star and still follows the sport from the US
Credit: Getty
'When I streamed the World Cup a couple of years ago, I had it on in the locker room.
'Guys were sitting around watching it noticing: Wow, they can only pass the ball backwards!
'Trying to explain to them is fun. They think it's mad. I think Scotland has a solid team right now.
'Finn Russell is electric, the pack is awesome. With Duhan Van Der Merwe and Darcy Graham on the other side, they've got some phenomenal players and are playing really well.'
Giants are a long way from the glory days when Greenock-born kicker Lawrence Tynes helped them win the Super Bowl in 2008 and 2012.
They've a tough task when the season begins in September after winning three of 17 games last year.
Their NFC East division is a killer with reigning Super Bowl champs Philadelphia Eagles, last season's surprise package Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys.
But they've added defensive star Abdul Carter through the draft and veteran quarterback Russell Wilson who won a Super Bowl with Seattle Seahawks.
And Gillan reckons the right spirit is already stirring in their practices to hint at a better 2025.
He said: 'As a team, we need to keep working hard to get more wins under our belt.
'Personally, there were ups and downs last season and I want to get more consistent.
'We can only control what we do in this building. If we do that the right way, create relationships and gel as a team, you can be unstoppable - no matter who you're playing against.
'That's what this time of year is for. Working out, working hard, practicing on the field.
'And a few of us golfing, playing darts and pool or getting dinner together. Our locker room vibe has been great.
'People underestimate the importance of those relationships before the real hard work comes round in July.'
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