There will be an added layer on intrigue for Irish fans at next month's NFL Combine, with some high profile GAA players set to make their case for a contract from one of the team's 32 teams and pulling off an unprecedented switch to American football.
The goalkeeping trio of Rory Beggan (Monaghan), Mark Jackson (Wicklow), and Charlie Smyth (Down) will all be hoping to make it to the NFL via the league's international player pathway programme. The initiative sees talented athletes from overseas brought to the United States in order to pursue a professional contract in the sport.
Former Connacht rugby player Darragh Leader is the other Irish representative on the list, which was confirmed this afternoon.
Introducing the International Player Pathway Class of 2024!
Established in 2017, the league’s IPP program aims to provide elite international athletes with the opportunity to compete at the NFL level, improve their skills and ultimately work to earn a spot on an NFL roster. pic.twitter.com/rHM998TOlJ— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2024
While this may seem like a far fetched idea, it is not as unlikely as many might assume.
Starting in 2024, every NFL must have one player from the international player pathway programme as part of their practice roster. With the GAA trio all attempting to be kickers or punters, many feel this is a position that will need less adjustment time than most other positions in the sport.
For the players themselves, they certainly feel as though they are not just there to make up the numbers.
READ HERE: Packers Coach Singles Out Wicklow's Dan Whelan In Rousing Team Talk
Monaghan star Rory Beggan bullish on NFL contract chances
Rory Beggan is the most high profile player among that trio, with the Monaghan man widely regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the sport over the last decade or so.
The Scotstown player has set aside his GAA ambitions for the time being, with the 31-year full focused on the opportunity on offer with the NFL.
Speaking to BBC NI, Beggan said that his trip to next month's combine is certainly not a 'box-ticking exercise' and that he has every intention of making a career out of the sport moving forward.
It's an unbelievable opportunity, something that hasn't come around too often in Irish quarters.
You're looking at Dan Whelan at the minute, who is nailing it with Green Bay [Packers] and that's something that we want to do.
We're not going over here to just tick a box, to say we have been at the NFL Combine, that's not what we are trying to do. We're going over here to try and get a contract and try to become one of the best 32 kickers in the world.
It's not a tick-box exercise or a bucket list, we are going over here to succeed...
You have to leave a bit behind to go and do this and if you succeed, which I'm hoping to do, it's essentially lights out with Monaghan and Scotstown for the time being.
If you do get signed I don't know how long you're going to be there, I hope to be there until I'm 38, 39, 40 years of age. As long as they keep you, as long as you are fit to do the job.
It's not something I want to do half-hearted, I want to go at this full throttle so steely determination is the way to go about it.
It would be incredible to see Rory Beggan taking to the pitch in the NFL over the next couple of years, with next month's combine the first step in that journey.
He would not be the only Irishman in the league, with Enniskerry native Dan Whelan currently tearing it up in his debut season as a punter with the Green Bay Packers.
SEE ALSO: Kerry Keeper And Derry Forward Cleared The Air At All-Star Awards
