HBCU Football Players Have Options Outside The NFL

Undrafted players have options like Brazil's Galo Futebol Americano League, United Football League, and Canadian Football League among others.

As great as the talent pool of athletes who attend and play on HBCU football teams is, only one player has been selected from an HBCU in the NFL draft in the last three years. Even more bleak, a quarterback from an HBCU hasn’t been drafted into the league in almost 20 years, making the league a place that Black quarterbacks will probably not make it to. Yet, several players are lucky enough to take their talents to other professional football leagues around the globe.

According to Andscape, one of those former student-athletes, Davius Richard, who played for North Carolina Central University, was able to explore his goals in a world other than the National Football League. After not hearing his name called during the NFL Draft, he did have a couple of teams in the United Football League contact him. In July, he became a member of the Houston Roughnecks for the upcoming 2025 season.

“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to continue my football career,” Richard told the media outlet. “Houston was really the biggest contender as far as the most persistent as far as getting information. Ultimately, during the draft, they said they was gonna call me and sign me. So later on that day, or later on the next day. The GM called me later on that night, gave me the rundown, and told me they planned on signing me.”

Tairiq Stewart, who also played at another North Carolina HBCU, North Carolina A&T University, wasn’t selected in this year’s NFL Draft, although he was invited to minicamp with the New England Patriots. He is now playing for the Edmonton Elks in the Canadian Football League—not the NFL, but still employed in a professional sports league. After playing for the Elks in the previous season, he will play with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in September.

“This is the second-best league in terms of football in the world,” Stewart said. “I’m among those elite athletes, so regardless, I am completing my task of being a professional athlete. We got some HBCU guys throughout the league, and they’re actually stars. They shine in their roles. So if I was talking to a person attending an HBCU right now or just a person playing college football in general, HBCU or not, this is a better league to play in.”

Another player is making his mark in yet another league that doesn’t isn’t the NFL, the Galo Futebol Americano league in Brazil. Former Prairie View A&M University player Myles McHaney IV took his professional playing dreams overseas.

“I was excited to have the opportunity to go to Brazil. It is an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to live in another country and play professional football,” McHaney said. “I wasn’t worried about living in Brazil. I actually love learning about other cultures and seeing different parts of the world. I am happy to meet new people and build new friendships with my teammates. This is a true learning experience for me.”

So, although many HBCU athletes have goals to make it to the NFL, all isn’t lost. Many other football leagues are open to welcoming them to play in their leagues, so their dreams of playing professionally are not cut off because the National Football League didn’t select them.