KERRY Skipper announced the Pittsburgh Steeler fourth selection in the draft that took place thus evening.
The GAA star confirmed live that Mason McCormick from South Dakota State University was selected as the side’s pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
2
Fossa ace Clifford is a NFL mad fan, and has regularly expressed his interest in American football.
He is a well-known supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL.
The National Football League draft, also called the NFL draft or (officially) the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the American football league.
The NFL Draft is an annual 3 day event, comprised of 7 rounds where each of the 32 NFL teams are able to recruit up and coming American football players and offers them spots on their roster.
This year’s NFL Draft took place from the 25th – 27th of April in Detroit and at it’s peaks, the event is watched by over 54 million people.
It was the first time the Pittsburgh Steelers have announced one of their picks live from Ireland.
The announcement from the Kerry star was the latest event in a series of activities that the NFL team have hosted on the island of Ireland.
The league recently expand their brand and activities for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as part of the NFL’s ‘Global Markets Program.
Most read in GAA Football
1997 was the first and, to-date, last time an NFL game was held in Ireland.
Last year, the participants were Notre Dame and Navy, representing the third time that those two teams squared off in Dublin.
That day, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced off against the Chicago Bears at Croke Park in the pre-season American Bowl.
The wait for the return of the NFL may well end sooner rather than later, however.
The Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets were all awarded rights to expand their brand and activities for Ireland as part of the NFL’s ‘Global Markets Program.’
Rooney added: “When we got the license back in May of 2023, we said it is something we are passionate about and we would love to see another game like in 1997.
“To see the Steelers in Ireland would be extremely exciting
“[There are] impressive venues here in Dublin and it is close to other markets.
“We know the Irish love sport so we believe they would show up to a game but just the other markets that travel here make it a viable option.
“I was at the Notre Dame-Navy game last summer and just seeing all the Notre Dame fans who showed up and filled the streets of Dublin, you can see why American football is growing in popularity.
“NFL ultimately has a very large say in how that would operate and they are on record saying they would like to grow the inventory of international games.
“Markets like Ireland are absolutely in the conversation.”