Efe Obada has announced his retirement from the NFL after a trailblazing career in which the British-Nigerian defensive end became the first player from the league’s International Player Pathway program to make a 53-man roster.
“I’m leaving with no regrets,” Obada told ESPN, after seven seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders, and he believes his “best years are still ahead” off the field.
The 34-year-old is launching a foundation to support young people who have been thru the care system.
“I feel like I’m ready to step away from the game,” Obada, who has started punditry in recent years, said. “I’ve been very fortunate and very privileged to carve out a very long career in a space where the average career is like two, two-and-a-half, three years.
“Now that I have the energy and the focus to move on to the next thing, I think I’m ready right now.
“I feel comfortable. I wouldn’t have any regrets. I have no regrets in my career and everything that I’ve done, the effort I’ve put out there, my career, the impact that I’ve had.”
Overcoming the Odds
Obada’s road to the NFL was one of the most unlikely in the league. Born in Nigeria, he was trafficked to the UK at the age of 10 and grew up in foster care in London before taking up American football in his early 20s.
Obada never played college football and signed with the London Warriors less than a year before signing with the Dallas Cowboys in 2015. He later signed with Carolina thru the NFL’s International Player Pathway and became the first player from the program to make a 53-man roster in 2018.
In his NFL debut against the Cincinnati Bengals, he had a sack and an interception to earn NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
He played four seasons with Carolina, including a homecoming as an honorary captain against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London in 2019, before spells with the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders, who he last made an appearance for in 2024.
Obada finishes his career with 80 regular season games played and 15 sacks. But he said his career was never just about what he did on the field.
