Why are there so few Mexicans in the NFL? Raúl Allegre has a theory...
The former NFL kicker spoke exclusively to AS and gave his thoughts on how to play and succeed in American Football in the United States.
There has been much debate and speculation about about there are so few Latino, or more specifically, Mexican players in the National Football League - some observers attribute it to physical characteristics, lack of support, or just circumstances that, for certain reasons, are not conducive for players from Hispanic American countries to make any headway in NFL. But all of that doesn’t fully explain the absence of hispano/latino players in NFL when they have a presence in other sports such as baseball (MLB) and to a lesser extent, basketball (NBA).
According to a report by the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport, just 12 players in the NFL identified as Latino in 2021, which works out at less than 1% of the league - that is surprisingly low when you consider that 18.7% of the American population is Latino (from 2020 Census figures).
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Former kicker for the Colts, Giants and Jets, Raúl Allegre, spoke exclusively AS and gave his own theory on the subject. He stressed that age is a key factor when taking the big leap.
“Regarding seeing more Mexicans in the NFL, there are more opportunities now than there were five or 10 years ago due to the International Player Pathway program that opened the doors to Isaac Alarcón, Alfredo Gutierrez, Héctor Zepeda. Allegre explained, adding, “But the disadvantage that these players have is that by the time they reach the NFL, they are already 25-26 years old, after having played in the Intermediate League, ONEFA and that reduces their window of opportunity” (... )
“I was in Mexico City in April during a camp held by the Pittsburgh Steelers with Alfredo Gachúz, a very talented kicker who I thought had the level to have played in the NFL. But he had to compete with the kicker from Clemson whose last name is Potter and he lost the opportunity to go to preseason because Potter was 22 years old and he was 26... and that is the reality of things,” declared Allegre, who now works as an analyst for ESPN.
Allegre believes that the key to increase the chance of making it as a professional in NFL if through the college route - by playing and studying within the American sports/school program.
“The most viable or probable way for a Mexican player to reach the NFL is if he studies and plays college soccer in the United States. That was how I arrived, that was also how Rafael Septién and Efrén Herrera arrived. So something I have been preaching for 20 years, that when a program can be created that places talented Mexican players in universities in the United States, that is finally going to open the doors for them,” he concluded.