Banned NRL star Bronson Xerri’s shock plan to save career with NFL move

Exiled NRL star Bronson Xerri’s has reportedly begun working on a desperate move to the NFL in an attempt to save his career.

Bronson Xerri is dreaming big. Source: Tumblr

Bronson Xerri’s reported interest in the NFL might not be as desperate as it seems on the surface.

The 20-year-old was last month slapped with a four-year ban by the NRL anti-doping tribunal after testing positive to banned substances in 2019.

Facing four years in exile, Xerri has reportedly found as loophole to save his career by making a shock switch to American football.

The NFL is not bound by the WADA code, like all of Australia’s major sports are, and it could be the lifeline he needs to continue his career.

The NFL has its own anti-doping system, and there is some potential for Xerri to find a way into the league in coming years.

Bronson Xerri of the Sharks.

The Sydney Morning Herald now reports that Xerri has reached out to Pacific Sports Management – the company that helped another former Sharks star, Valentine Holmes, gain a footing in American football through the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

The lightning quick Xerri still faces a reality check that the NFL is one of the hardest football league’s to crack on the planet, filled with explosive, freak athletes.

However, reports of Xerri being recorded at a speed of 34.5km/h on the field in his debut season means he is a very real NFL prospect.

It is regular for players to be clocked at speeds of more than 37km/h during the 40-yard dash test event at the NFL Draft Combine, but Xerri said last year he is much quicker than the 34.5km’h score he has been measured at.

He has time to make the move work.

NRL player Bronson Xerri sprint training. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Xerri was provisionally stood down in May after returning a positive result for various performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone.

His B-sample to the original positive test also returned a positive result for a banned substance, it was confirmed in September.

His positive test was announced in May, 2020, despite his ban being the result of a drugs test taken in November 2019.

he back-dated suspension means Xerri is not available to play in the NRL until the start of the 2024 season.