Jordan Mailata makes history as first Australian to win a Super Bowl Jordan Mailata, the giant rugby league convert from Bankstown, has made history by becoming the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl victory.
The game turned into a rout as the Eagles cantered to their second Super Bowl in a decade and Mailata secured his first ring at the second attempt – after the disappointment of the 2021 decider which the Eagles lost to the Chiefs.
The offensive tackle, taking part in his second NFL championship decider, played no small part in the Philadelphia Eagles’ stunning win over the Kansas City Chiefs in this year’s showpiece game held in New Orleans.
The former labourer with the voice of an angel was invited to the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and, despite his minimal knowledge of the game initially, he showed enough potential there and in rugby league highlight reels to convince the Eagles to select him with the 233rd pick in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
In 2021, he signed a four-year, US$64m contract, before helping his team to the Super Bowl the same year, and in 2024 he put pen to paper on a US$66m extension to keep him with the Eagles until 2028 and make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid offensive tackles.
