When the Pittsburgh Steelers were awarded the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as a part of the NFL’s Global Markets initiative, they immediately implemented a calendar of events to foster a fan base in the region, and they went beyond just trying to court fans. Last month in April, the Steelers held a kicking clinic hosted by P Jordan Berry and K Shaun Suisham on an invite-only basis.
K Mark Jackson participated in that clinic and was given a trophy by Suisham and the Steelers for having the best performance there. That performance also earned him an invite to rookie minicamp a couple weeks ago.
“You were waiting for that opportunity for an NFL team to, I suppose, put their trust in you,” Jackson said in a video posted on the Steelers’ website. “To be here is really special for me.”
He has been working with Leader Kicking, a program that seeks athletes with diverse backgrounds to help turn them into kickers and punters in American football. Also from that program is K Charlie Smyth, another Irish goalkeeper like Jackson who was recently signed by the New Orleans Saints.
Jackson made all 10 of his field goal attempts at minicamp and had a good overall performance. His efforts did not earn him a contract at this time, but it was a great foot in the door to continue to get opportunities in the future.
“To say that there’s a potential of an opportunity to the NFL through the International Pathway Program, it’s been a crazy couple of months,” Jackson said. “I’ve loved every second of it, and yeah, I don’t want to stop here.
“I’m hoping to be one of the pioneers of Irish guys to come over to the NFL and play in the NFL. I never had the opportunity to dream this big when I was a kid. There was never an opportunity for Irish guys to make this move across the pond and give it a go in the NFL. But now there is that opportunity. Dream big, and the sky is the limit…I’m hoping this is just the beginning.”
The time wasn’t right to make the Steelers as a kicker with Chris Boswell entrenched in the starting role. He signed a four-year contract in 2022 that will keep him in Pittsburgh until 2026. But getting the foot in the door for Jackson was an important first step. Any success from Smyth this year with the Saints will go a long way toward opening more doors for kickers and punters from Ireland and from Leader Kicking.
With one tryout opportunity already given to a participant from the kicking clinic in Ireland, expect that to continue in future years. Who knows, maybe the Steelers will sign the next Charlie Smyth sometime in the future after Boswell moves on from the team. The pathway program makes it a whole lot easier as those players do not count against the practice squad limit, and teams can elevate them up to three times to the active roster throughout the season starting in 2024.
