Siya Kolisi calls on NFL teams to invest, claiming Americans would enjoy rugby 'values'
Siya Kolisi calls on NFL teams to invest, claiming Americans would enjoy rugby 'values'
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has argued that NFL teams should “buy into rugby” in an effort to expand the sport into the American market.
“I really think Americans would love rugby if they get to see more of it, and if it is shown a whole lot more on TV,” Kolisi told the press on Friday.
“But I think it needs a lot of hard work. I really believe if the NFL teams buy into rugby and they become part owners in the rugby clubs, and some of the players that don’t get to play, if they can use them, let them play rugby, I think that would really help the game a lot.”
The USA are set to host the Rugby World Cup in 2031, but right now, their national side is unlikely to engage any new fans quite like their soccer team did in 2026.
They currently sit 14th in the world rankings and have notoriously always struggled to compete against Tier 1 nations, notably losing 85-0 to Scotland just last year.
The USA will need heavy investment in their rugby programme if they’re to rise through the international ranks, but there needs to be an incentive to get the American football-loving public to turn their attention to the English-born game.
“I think it will need a buy-in from the NFL, because I know the Americans grow up with American football,” Kolisi continued.
“You can’t compete [with American Football]. I think rugby can play off-season when the American football is off, and they can play it,” Kolisi suggested, adding that it’s “one contact sport to another”.
“I think Americans would really enjoy the game, the values, and what it stands for as well.”
The impact that year-round contact could have on a player’s body can be questioned, but there’s certainly merit in the suggestion that the transfer of high-profile American Football stars to rugby would attract a lot of attention and interest in the game.
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Learning American Football
Although the two sports may seem similar on the surface, as Christian Wade and Louis Rees-Zammit will tell you, transitioning between them is far from seamless.
“The hardest thing about it is learning the plays, because you have so many plays, and they can be called at any time,” said Kolisi, reflecting on his time visiting his friend, New York Jets Defensive end, Paschal Ekeji.
“But the physical part of it, it’s much less because everything is explosive. So it was interesting to hear, where we train for much longer, they play a couple of seconds at a time, and they have so many guys on the team. Everything’s bigger because I heard they were asking for five buses coming to the game.”
The huge roster used in American Football teams adds to Kolisi’s buy-in claim. Those who aren’t getting the action they need in American Football could see rugby as an alternative route to success in elite-level sport.
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