Nigerian born NFL star Efe Obada opens up about his traumatic past, tells of how he was trafficked

He began with the London Monarchs, the equivalent of an American semi-pro team and helped them win a championship as a tight end and defensive end.

He continued climbing up the ladder before joining the Panthers’ practice squad last season. Obada was chosen as one of four players to participate in the NFL’s International Pathway Program, which began in 2017. But he’s the only one to make a final 53-man roster, which was determined on Saturday.

He’s due to earn $480,000 this season, significantly more than the $129,200 that a member of an NFL practice squad makes.

“It instilled a hunger in me that I have until this day,” Obada said of his early life experience. “And I feel like I can apply it in a game. It’s kind of going into a state of survival — that is what I do every day. I don’t take this opportunity for granted.”

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he sees that every day in practice. The coach said 6-foot-6, 255-pound Obada’s passion and drive is one of the things that helped him earn a roster spot over the team’s 2017 third-round draft pick Daeshon Hall.

“He practices 100 miles per hour,” Rivera said. “I got some guys, they get upset with him because on Friday (during walk-through practice) he’s going hard. But you say to the guys, ‘Hey, if you came from where he came from, if you dealt with what he dealt with, that’s the way you’re going to approach everything in life.”