Eagles’ Jordan Mailata focused on Super Bowl, but will his sweet singing voice give him a future in music?
PHOENIX – Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata needed less than five years to go from a guy who had never played football to one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL.
Sure, his 6-foot-8, 365-pound frame helped. But it’s not the only reason for his success, because Mailata seems to be good at just about everything he does – which is why he’ll be protecting quarterback Jalen Hurts’ blindside against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday night.
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He was a professional rugby player in his native Australia before he realized that his size was actually hurting his bid to reach his full potential. So his agent suggested he look into a sport where his size would help. Mailata entered the NFL International Pathway Player Program, was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round that same year, and by 2021 he signed a four-year contract extension with nearly $41 million in guarantees and a maximum value of up to $80 million.
Impressive, yes.
But it’s not just on the field where Mailata thrives. The 25-year-old was also on the popular TV show “The Masked Singer” where he impressed everyone – including his head coach – with his remarkable voice.
“First of all, we all know how great of a singer he is, that’s well documented,” Nick Sirianni said Wednesday. “And then he plays professional rugby, and all of the sudden he takes up a sport like football, where at the age of whatever he was [20] he did that and now he’s one of the premier tackles in the league. What can this guy not do? God’s blessed him with a lot of different talents and he’s using them.”
But his talent for signing, in particular, opens up some interesting possibilities for the future. And while many offensive linemen are known for keeping things close to the vest, Mailata is not. Yep, he’s also a very comfortable communicator in front of the cameras and microphones. We know. Shocker.
Mailata, who is of Polynesian descent, said that singing has always been a part of his life. And it seems like it always will be. He brought his guitar to the Super Bowl because he wants to stick to his routine. And his routine includes singing and strumming during his downtime.
“I was a singer before any sort of athlete, dude,” Mailata said Wednesday. “Yeah, I just grew up in church, I’m one of five kids. If you know any Polynesians, man, music and singing [are] intertwined with the culture, culture and religion. So we grew up singing at such a young age and it’s just become natural for us to just I guess, natural singers.”
So after his exploits on “The Masked Singer” revealed his talents to the world, have any record companies reached out about a potential deal? Mailata admitted it’s not something he’s really thinking about right now – a few days before playing in the Super Bowl. But he also couldn’t hide his true feelings.
“I’ve been keeping my head focused and my eyes on the prize right now,” Mailata said. “But I might have to hit up my agency and be like, ‘Yo, did we get any offers? I don’t really care, but did we? Did we?’”
When you ask Mailata’s teammates about his singing, they shrug it off. They’re used to hearing him sing. Like, all the time.
“He just does it anywhere and when he wants to,” Eagles guard Isaac Seumaloit’s not like he’s bad at singing, so it doesn’t really affect me that much. … He can sing with the best of them.”
There’s no trash talk from teammates or opponents because there’s nothing to trash talk. He’s just good at it.
“It’s not even like, ‘Oh, he’s good for the NFL, or he’s good for an athlete,’” backup offensive lineman Jack Driscoll said. “Jordan’s a good singer. Period.”
Still, they were impressed (if not surprised) when he delivered with the world watching.
“We all know Jordan can sing, so to go out there and see him do it on national TV was awesome,” Driscoll said. “I wasn’t surprised that he crushed it because like I said he does it every day. So definitely wasn’t shocked.”
Strangely, Mailata isn’t the only Eagles offensive lineman who has shown off his singing voice this year. He teamed with tackle Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce for a Christmas album earlier this season, which was (not a joke) well-received by just about everyone.
Mailata agonized a bit when asked if Johnson or Kelce had the better singing voice before making up his mind.
“I’ll only say Lane because he’s got this like southern twang and it’s not fair,” Mailata said. “It’s a disadvantage [for Kelce]. I personally think it’s a disadvantage. So I’ll probably say because Lane’s has a southern twang, it will probably be Lane. Don’t sleep on Kelce, man. Kelce can sing, dude. I’m telling you. Man, we should do another album just so we can truly show Kelce’s singing capabilities.”
But he didn’t get to show off his singing voice after the Eagles won the NFC Championship Game, because it was Hurts on the stage singing “Fly, Eagles Fly” instead. The rendition was, um, accurate if not in tune. But when asked what he thought of Hurts’ performance, and why he didn’t get up on stage, Mailata proved that he has his quarterback’s back, on and off the field.
“I’ll be honest, I had no idea what the hell was happening, it was my first NFC Championship,” Mailata said. “Listen, all I remember is the hooter went off [when time ran out], we were shaking hands, I turned around, there’s a bloody stage already built and I’m like, ‘What the hell, where did that come from?’
“They fenced off the area where all the players are, I’m outside the fence with my fiancé, and next thing you know I’m in the middle of an interview and I hear Jalen singing it, I can’t really hear him, because I’m like what the hell is going on? I don’t really have an opinion. I didn’t really hear it. Everybody’s been asking me that. I need to go back and watch it, to be honest, do some film review.”
And now we know why Sirianni said that one of the best things about Mailata is that he’s a natural “protector.”
We’ll have to wait and see if there’s a record deal in Mailata’s future. But he did say he’s open to one day singing the national anthem before a game.
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“I’d be honored,” Mailata said. “If no one was offended, I would be honored, to be honest.”
Surely, he would send the Lincoln Financial Field crowd into a frenzy if he did it before an Eagles game. But that moment might have to wait because Mailata openly it admits that he’s very much a creature of habit, and he wouldn’t want it to interfere with his pregame preparation.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t do it at an Eagles game. I’d have to lock in and focus on the game. We’ll see what happens.”
