Jordan Mailata was born on March 31 in 1997 in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown in Australia.
His first sport of choice was Rugby League, where he played for junior clubs the Bankstown Bulls from which he was called up to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Under 18’s team in 2015. However before being able to play for the Bulldogs Mailata fainted at training and subsequent scans found a congenital heart defect which would require surgery and keep him off the sporting field for over a year.
During this time Mailata reportedly went from 147kgs to 166 kgs.
Jordan Mailata made his return to the lower grades of Rugby League with the Five Dock RSL Junior Rugby League team. From this side he sounded out as a possible recruit by the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their junior development pathways, but concerns about Mailata’s size and mobility prompted those around him to look towards sports that he would be better suited for as an athlete.
Mailata was soon offered an opportunity to take part in the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. While he didn’t know a great deal about the NFL, he was familiar with the sport, and in February 2018 he would join the IMG Academy in Florida to begin training.
NFL scouts evaluated Mailata as a possible practice squad player at NFL level as he was very much seen as a work in progress. Despite concerns that he had never played a single down of American Football, scouts were impressed with his NFL combine times and his sheer size (He is 6 foot 8) and athletic ability for someone of his stature.
During the 2018 NFL draft Jordan Mailata was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 233rd pick in the 7th round of the draft. On September 1st 2018 he would become a member of the Eagles 53 man roster however a back injury would prevent him from playing in any games for over a year.
On September 13th in 2020 Jordan Mailata made his NFL debut against the Washington Commanders as a replacement in the 3rd quarter. A few weeks later he would play his first game as a starter for the Eagles in their week 4 clash against the San Fransisco 49ers.
On November 1st against the Dallas Cowboys Jordan Mailata would sustain a concussion which would ultimately end his first season in the NFL. He played a total of 15 games, starting in 10 of them.
The following season Jordan Mailata was named the starting left tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles and sign a 3 year $66 million dollar contract extension.
Mailata would play for the Eagles in their Super Bowl LVII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On April 4th in 2023 Jordan Mailata would sign another 3 year, $66 million extension to remain with the Philadelphia Eagles.
