Rock bottom to NFL stardom: The rise of London's Jermaine Eluemunor — SkimNews
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- Jermaine Eluemunor signed a $39m contract extension with the New York Giants this offseason and was named team captain this past weekend.
- Eluemunor first discovered football in 2007 while channel-flicking and stumbled upon the first-ever NFL regular-season game in London, a Giants vs Miami Dolphins matchup at Wembley Stadium.
- Born and raised in Chalk Farm, North London, Eluemunor moved to New Jersey at age 14, went unrecruited by colleges out of high school, attended Lackawanna College after sending hundreds of emails to schools, and was eventually courted by 35 colleges before spending three years at Texas A&M.
- Eluemunor was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft but was traded to the New England Patriots in August 2019, where he was limited to 29 offensive snaps in his first season and reached what he describes as 'rock bottom' amid mental health struggles.
- After being cut by both the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars during preseason, Eluemunor signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, started all 17 games in 2022, and earned a $3m extension.
- Eluemunor returned to the UK this year to run a four-day camp series that reached 385 children, with one family reportedly driving more than two hours each way to attend a session.
Why it matters: A British-born offensive tackle who had to cold-email hundreds of US colleges to find a roster spot now wears the captain's 'C' for the Giants on a $39m contract extension, while running UK youth football camps that reached 385 kids this year.
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