Famous South African American Football Players

The first player from South Africa to play in a regular NFL game, Gary Anderson holds the record of completing an entire season without missing a kick, ending up with 94 out of 94 shots at goal in 1998. The four-time Pro Bowl was the son of a soccer player.

South African-American footballer Greg Joseph is a well-known placekicker for the NFL team Minnesota Vikings. Born in Johannesburg, he moved with his family to Florida at age 7. He started his professional career with the Miami Dolphins and later also played for the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While breaking junior records in discus, Gerhard de Beer was also fascinated by rugby. He later moved to the University of Arizona on a track and field scholarship and began playing American football. Beer has played for the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Houston Roughnecks.

South African-born American footballer Dieter Eiselen grew up playing rugby in his home country. On moving to the USA, he spent a year at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, learning to play football. He helped his team to a state title, later moving to Yale, where he played for the Yale Bulldogs before being signed to Chicago Bears in May 2020.

Former wide receiver Jerome Pathon began his NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts and later represented teams such as the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons. The North Shore Sports Hall of Fame inductee has also coached the teams of the San Diego and South Florida universities.

Now an accomplished author and sports consultant, South African footballer, Derek Smethurst, is hailed for scoring 147 goals out of 292 matches. Debuting in professional football at nineteen, he moved to England to play for Chelsea and became the first African to win a European Championship. Later, he relocated to USA and played for different clubs until his retirement in 1982.

Renowned American football linebacker, Ezra Butler, the son of Grammy-nominated guitarist and music producer Jonathan Butler, started his career with college football at Nevada and his senior career with the San Francisco 49ers. He has represented the Las Vegas Locomotives and won the UFL championship twice, and now coaches high-school students.