Winning a Super Bowl is the dream goal for any football player. It makes little difference whether one’s a kid chucking a ball around the backyard or a prospect working their way up through the ladder from high school and college, or even someone who has hit the big league as an NFL pro — every footballer hankers after that ring.
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So, when Jordan Mailata, who got his Lombardi after seven years in the league, said the experience was cool, just not as special as it was for his teammates, jaws dropped.
Jordan addressed this feeling during his recent appearance on The Morning Shift podcast. When asked how he felt about winning the Super Bowl, Jordan said that it felt “surreal,” but at the same time, it was a more complicated feeling for him compared to his teammates.
No, it’s not that Jordan is some kind of emotionless cyborg. It’s just that, unlike his other Philadelphia Eagles teammates, Jordan wasn’t born and raised in the USA. An Australian by birth, Jordan began his professional journey as a rugby player. After playing the sport for about three years, he transitioned to American football in 2018 when the Eagles rolled the dice on him with the 233rd pick.
So, while many of his peers may have dreamed of flashing a championship ring since their childhood, for Jordan, the idea of winning the Super Bowl came late to his life.
“I think the best way to put it is: It’s hard for me to explain it or have the right answer for someone. I just put it like this: you know, for me, the aspirations of becoming a Super Bowl champion only started seven years ago. Whereas for my teammates, when they were little kids,” said the All-Pro.
Having said that, Jordan reiterated that he doesn’t mean it as any disrespect to the glory of the trophy or the sport. After all, he had the time of his life during the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade. And he has been playing the sport for almost a decade.
After the Super Bowl win, NFL pundit Dan Orlovsky on broadcast, lauded the impact Mailata has had on Australian youngsters.
“Think about all the kids back in Australia. Now, you might not be gifted with the God-given ability to be 6 foot 9 inches long, 350 pounds [150kg] and move like that.
“But for a guy to come from that area, come over here and have the career that he has, it does give hope to a young kid that maybe says, ‘I want to be the next Jordan Mailata’.
‘That’s part of the reason why it did take some time. He’s such a gifted athlete, he had to learn some of the nuances and technique offensive line wise,” Orlovsky said.
As a pro, Mailata’s end goal has always been a Super Bowl win—and now that he has one, it doesn’t mean his hunger has been satiated.
“There’s no disrespect to the game or any of my teammates, but it’s just like, for me, that’s just how it is… And this is just me being really real, being honest. Great achievement, love it, but I want another one, like I’ve already moved on. I’ve already celebrated, it’s good, next season.”
Spoken like a true athlete. Jordan Mailata does not let the sense of great achievement take away his motivation to achieve even more. He has more than proven his worth to the Eagles since the day he got drafted. And after playing his best season in 2024, he is ready to do it again.
