$100m Aussie Jordan Mailata earns eye-popping rating, takes over the ESPYS
It’s Jordan Mailata’s world, we’re just living in it, after the Aussie was given an extraordinary honour before dominating the ESPY Awards.
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Aussie giant Jordan Mailata is quietly taking over the United States.
The 28-year-old offensive tackle with the Philadelphia Eagles is one of the great recent success stories in professional sport.
The man with no experience in American football was the longest of long shots when he was selected by the Eagles with the 233rd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
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He has since become a Super Bowl champion, helping Philadelphia beat Kansas City in the big game in February this year, about eight months after he signed a three-year, US$66 million ($100m) contract extension.
But he is now taking his fame, notoriety and accomplishments to a whole new level in the US.
Mailata became a prominent figure in this week’s annual ESPY Awards in Los Angeles – more on that shortly – but his biggest honour might have come courtesy of sports analytics company Pro Football Focus (PFF).
PFF analyses enormous volumes of data and ranks players across all positions in the NFL.
It has just ranked Mailata as the No. 1 offensive lineman in the sport and the 11th player overall.
In a sport littered with massive names, including a glut of superstar quarterbacks, it’s an extraordinary honour for the Sydneysider.
His grading of 95.1 is the second highest ever handed to an offensive lineman.
Not bad work for a man that picked up the game just seven years ago and his achievements were noticed by countless fans of America’s most popular sport.
X account Rain Guru tweeted: “Jordan Mailata is an absolute beast! Crazy how far he’s come from playing rugby. Remember when we thought the Eagles taking a shot on him was a wild move? Worked out pretty well!”
Eric Eldred wrote: “From a guy who never played American football, drafted in the 7th round, sat for two years to learn the game, and in 5 seasons developed into the No. 1 tackle in football. He’s gotta be one of football’s best stories ever.”
Vick3 declared “Jordan Mailata is the best left tackle in the NFL” while Mike Marshall tweeted Mailata’s name and simply used the goat emoji.
Jordan Mailata - 95.1 PFF grade last season
— PFF (@PFF) July 18, 2025
🦅 1st among all players in 2024
🦅 2nd best by any OL in the PFF-era
The No. 11 player and No. 1 OT on the PFF50 pic.twitter.com/evdRzzjnIi
But it’s not just among stats and analytics that Mailata is making a name for himself.
The 203cm, 166kg behemoth also played a starring role across the glittering ESPY ceremony hosted by Shane Gillis on Thursday (AEST).
Interviewed on the couch by ESPN’s flagship Sports Center show prior to the ceremony getting underway, Mailata’s natural charisma shone through.
When he was asked about wearing a microphone at times during games, which he received praise for last season, Mailata said: “Just trying to have fun. I’ll always be me, authentic … whatever comes out is authentic as you’ll get.
“But thank god for editing.”
Hosts Kevin Negandhi and Elle Duncan cracked up at that last comment.
Duncan then said she had travelled to Australia last year and asked Mailata to explain the rules to AFL.
“Believe it or not, I don’t really know either,” he said to more laughs. “I don’t know either, I played rugby league.
“Beautiful thing about technology, ChatGPT, AI, you can just ask what it is.”
Once the show got underway in front of a star-studded audience at the Dolby Theater, Mailata was brought on stage twice.
The first time he accepted an award for Best Play on behalf of his superstar teammate, running back Saquon Barkley.
In a game against Jacksonville last November, Barkley received a pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts, broke one tackle, did a reverse spin to get past another opponent before hurdling a third with his back turned.
With Barkley absent from the awards, Mailata took to the stage to accept the award and showed zero nerves in front of the massive global audience as he gave a hilarious speech.
“If Saquon was here, he would say that this was a team award,” Mailata said.
“He would say that it was because of the team that he could jump 40 inches vertical backwards over a player.
“He would say that no man is an island (and) that he draws his strength from others.”
His final appearance was taking the stage alongside teammates and coach Nick Sirianni as the Eagles accepted the Team of the Year honour, which was the last award of the long night.
“If you made it this far into the program, give yourselves a pat on the back. It’s been a long night,” Mailata said as the crowd laughed.
“I also want to give thanks to our sixth offensive lineman, Shane Gillis. Training camp starts next week, so if you want to give it a run, let us know.
“I also want to give thanks to the people that don’t get the light shone on them. Our trainers, our strength and conditioning trainers, our chefs.
“And then deeper than that, our families, our rocks, the people that support us and get us to work every day and our why.
“Thank you to everyone that supported us, our fans and Go Birds.”
That led to more gushing comments online.
X account Drew Comments wrote: “Jordan Mailata has an amazing media career waiting for him after he retires. He just has ‘it’.”
Eagles fan account Pugmane wrote: “Jordan Mailata a thousand times more charming than Shane Gillis and Druski lmao.”
A third fan said: “Jordan Mailata’s got those speech skills too? Damn, is there anything this man can’t do?”
Just to throw this into the mix, Mailata is also known for having a superb singing voice.
It’s becoming clear this is actually Mailata’s world, we’re all just living in it.
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