NFL: Why New Zealand has piqued reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams' interest

Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald. Photo / Getty Images

The reigning NFL champion Los Angeles Rams have set their sights on New Zealand.

The 2022 Super Bowl winners have identified the country as a nation with serious potential to both turn it into a Rams 'home' market, but also expose more people to the game and find burgeoning young talent.

It's a part of the NFL's International Home Market Area Initiative, in which teams have to tender their case to the league to be allowed to treat certain countries as 'home' nations. Being awarded a tender allows the team to plant seeds in the country over a multi-year term.

The LA Rams entered Australia as part of the initiative last year, and this year extended their rights into New Zealand - alongside the Philadelphia Eagles.

In an interview with the Herald, Rams head of international Stephanie Cheng said the team would be making a noticeable splash in the market, with activations and gatherings for fans as well as targeted content and visits from members of the organisation all among the possibilities.

"We sought out the New Zealand market as we believe that it is a great market to grow the Rams fan base," Cheng said.

"You can anticipate that we will be on the ground in New Zealand over the term of our IHMA rights."

It's an initiative born of opportunity. There are plenty of NFL fans in Australia and New Zealand, but many are without a team to support, NFL general manager of Australia and New Zealand Charlotte Offord explained.

"We've seen from our research that 45 per cent of NFL fans within the market currently don't follow a team," Offord told the Herald.

"The hope is the more that we invest in the sport, ultimately we want to be fueling the pathway for the future for athletes to go into the NFL hopefully."

Only five New Zealand-born players have made it to the NFL level. Christchurch-born Riki Ellison won three Super Bowl rings across his 124 games between 1983 and 1992, David Dixon played 152 matches across 11 seasons in the league, while Auckland-born Stephen Paea played more than 83 NFL matches.

The last Kiwi to play in the NFL was fullback Paul Lasike for the Chicago Bears.

The NFL has already implemented international player pathways and combine programmes, which have had some success with Australian talent - none more so than Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata.

Offord believed more of a presence from the league in New Zealand could see more Kiwi athletes look to the league as a viable career goal.

In looking to find promising young talent Down Under, the NFL is also working to recruit a local talent scout.

"It's about putting those platforms in place and putting people in the right places to find the talent we know exists," Offord said.