This new Panthers defensive end overcame childhood homelessness to get to the NFL

The Carolina Panthers will be entering the 2018 season with one of the best stories on their newly cemented 53-man roster: 26-year-old defensive end Efe Obada who fought his way from the streets of London to the NFL.

Obada was born in Nigeria, and at the age of 10 was trafficked to London along with his sister in the hopes of the pair finding a better life. That didn’t materialize, and the children found themselves living on the streets — sleeping in the foyer of a building with only coats to keep them warm. A family took the pair in, but Obada defines the living arrangement as one of “domestic slavery,” where he and his sister were forced to work and clean for the family, while their biological children took precedence. His teenage years were spent moving throughout Britain’s social services system, which caused Obada to become embroiled in gang culture, and when he saw three friends killed he decided to make a change.

“My life could have gone bad or good and I decided I wasn’t going down that road,” Obada stressed. “I lost a lot of friends and I saw people coming and going and I decided that was not the life for me or my sister.”

Obada learned on Saturday night that he’d survived the final round of cuts and will get a chance to make an impact at a position of dire importance for the Panthers, who are already leaning on an aging Julius Peppers and veteran Mario Addison to do the lion’s share of the team’s pass rushing this season.

Obada began playing football for the London Warriors, who he’d been introduced to while studying business. It was immediately clear that he had a natural talent for the game, and went on to help the Warriors win a national championship. His performance was enough to grab the attention of the Dallas Cowboys, who invited him for a workout but ultimately decided not to sign him.

Obada was given the opportunity to work with the Panthers through the NFL’s “International Pathway Program,” which placed four international players with teams in the NFC South. This gave the teams a chance to have an additional practice squad player, which could only be used on the international placements — with the idea being that training up the players would help grow the game abroad. However, Obada exceeded the training concept of the program and impressed in preseason play for the Panthers, recording four tackles and a sack in limited play. Throughout it all Obada is remaining humble, and wants people to know that many others have been in his shoes.

“It’s definitely important for me to be a role model,” said Obada, who has been training between three to five hours per day when not working his shifts in the warehouse. “You need role models to inspire you.

“I don’t want this to be about me – I’m not self-centered. I would just like my story to be an inspirational one because there are still people I know who are in that position I was once in and who haven’t got the opportunities that I have. I just want them to know that it is possible.”

He’s already making an impact on the fans he met in training camp.

This is one of the best stories from a difficult weekend of NFL cuts.