The chance to earn millions a year, wider coverage and sporting stardom are just some of the reasons why British rugby league stars are hanging up their boots and trading it for a life in the NFL.
On Saturday it was announced Travis Clayton – who has never played a competitive game of American football – had been snapped up by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the NFL draft as an offensive lineman.
It means Clayton, who last played rugby for eighth-tier Basingstoke RFC last year, will be the latest in a string of rugby league players to head across the Atlantic to break into the American football league.
Over the last seven years, seven former British rugby players have been picked up from the NFL’s International Player Pathway, after being deemed talented young players able to make it on the football field.
Clayton’s move comes after Welsh star Louis Rees-Zammit announced he would be joining the Kanas City Chiefs alongside Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, while Northampton Saints player Harry Mallinder also made the move earlier this year.
Yet while some have gained success on contracts starting at $884,000, others such as Christian Wade have returned to rugby following a ‘lonely’ stint across the pond.
Some of the talented stars have even left the sporting world all together, such as 6ft9in Christian Scotland-Williamson who traded in his athletic career to become a barrister.
Foreign players in the NFL are few and far between, with success stories even rarer. But as Clayton embarks on his journey with the Buffalo Bills, MailOnline takes a look back at the other players who have tried to break into the sport.
Travis Clayton
Travis Clayton is set for sporting stardom after he was picked out of hundreds from the NFL’s International Player Pathway.
Born in Basingstoke and had his first job working at Sainsburys, more recently working screening employment backgrounds.
Yet the 6ft7in athlete could soon be earning tens of millions as he follows in the footsteps of former rugby stars cherry picked for the game.
‘Buffalo came to me. Buffalo wanted me. I’m just ready to work,’ he told the crowd on Saturday. ‘I don’t think it’s really going to kick in yet until I actually get to Buffalo. But at the moment, it’s a world of emotions going on right now. It’s crazy.’
His mother Nicky Clayton yesterday posted a picture with her son at an NFL event thanking ‘the people of Basingstoke’ for all the support they have given him.
She added: ‘We are over the moon to announce that Travis Clayton has just been drafted into the NFL Buffalo Bills. He is so special. We couldn’t be prouder and love you so much.’
The 23-year-old’s athletic success will likely not come as a surprise to his loved ones who saw his promising sporting career blossom over the years.
When he was young Clayton reportedly played for Fulham’s football academy, also trying out for Reading, Southampton and Chelsea. Deciding football was not quite the right choice, he also tried out boxing and rowing before moving to rugby.
Now weighing 21.5 stone, Clayton completed the NFL’s 40 metre dash in 4.79 seconds – the fastest time recorded by Bills scouts for an offensive lineman in the last decade.
