He was the largest player to crack into the NRL.
Now Ben Te Kura reveals he is “all in” in his ambition to become only the second NRL player to make a successful cross-code switch to the NFL. Jarryd Hayne was the first 10 years ago when he played for the San Francisco 49ers.
Te Kura, all 205 centimetres and 140kg of him, has walked away from his Brisbane Broncos contract in a bid to chase a Jordan Mailata-inspired American dream.
The 22-year-old was released from the remainder of his Broncos contract in July after initially being granted six weeks leave to explore his gridiron potential.
The gamble has left Te Kura, who made five first-grade appearances with the Broncos – including two in the 2025 premiership season – with no safety net. In doing so, he has walked away from one of the biggest sporting clubs in Australia to follow the remarkable journey forged by Philadelphia Eagles superstar and Super Bowl champion Mailata.
Speaking for the first time since embarking on the move, Te Kura said it’s a punt that will pay off.
“I know I can make it, and making the decision to walk away from my Broncos contract should send the message that I am all in,” he said.
Standing six-foot-nine and more than 300 pounds on the old scale, Te Kura is two centimetres taller than Mailata and five centimetres taller than former Melbourne Storm man mountain Nelson Asofa-Solomona. While it was a struggle to maintain a playing weight of 120kg in an NRL competition that is becoming increasingly faster, the former Broncos prop is now 20kg heavier to ensure he has the right body type to excel in the NFL.
It has resulted in workouts with the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins, who have been impressed with the agility of an athlete of his stature.
“Every workout was different and I learned something from every one of them,” Te Kura said.
“Being inside those environments and seeing the level of detail, professionalism and knowledge involved has only made me hungrier.”
Mailata made the extraordinary journey from a reserve-grader at South Sydney to a Super Bowl champion whose latest Eagles contract is worth about $100 million. While inspired by Mailata’s rise, Te Kura is keen to cut his own path.
“Jordan’s journey shows Australian rugby league players that it can be done,” Te Kura said.
“But I know I’ve got to earn my own opportunity. Nobody is going to give it to me.
“I’ve made the decision. I’ve backed myself. Now I’ve got to do the work.”
While there’s a chance an NFL franchise could offer Te Kura a contract, it’s likely his opportunity will come via the league’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program, which helps talented athletes from around the world make the transition.
That’s the route Mailata used to fulfil his NFL ambitions. There are other parallels; their position of choice is left tackle on the offensive line, where they are charged with protecting the quarterback. Both engaged Pacific Sports Management to kickstart their American journeys, working closely with rugby league agent Chris Orr and the firm’s NFL specialist Dwayne Bugden. And both have spent time working with Broncos and Rabbitohs premiership-winning coach Michael Maguire.
“Sometimes you’ve been given a gift of size, and that’s what Jordan had,” Maguire said.
“And that’s definitely what he has and he has backed himself to take on the NFL world.
“He can move. Our game is NFL in motion, in fast forward, because each play we have a stoppage and a start.
“When you’re as big as both those humans are, our game is a bit trickier than just having one play and resetting. That’s where he can fit into that [NFL] space, because they are big humans.
“The one thing I saw in Jordan’s pathway is that he worked really hard. If Benny does the same, there’s no reason he couldn’t potentially go on that same path.
“It’s a different challenge to playing our sport, the intricacies of being an NFL player. They have gameplan books that we go through.
“I’d love to see him make it, it would be fantastic.”
Having given up a six-figure salary at the Broncos, Te Kura has the opportunity to make millions if he can successfully make the switch. It comes at a time when the NFL’s first Australian regular-season game, between the 49ers and the Rams, will be held at the MCG next month.
“I know I can make it,” Te Kura said. “Walking away from my Broncos contract wasn’t an easy decision, but I wanted people to understand how serious I am about this. I’m all in.”
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