By Marisa Laudadio
5:00pm PDT, Apr 1, 2024
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Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs are welcoming a new teammate to the fold — a young athlete who's never played American football but has been generating a lot of interest in recent days following his impressive performance in the NFL's International Player Pathway program: British rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit.
On March 29, following his impressive performance in the NFL's 10-week IPP program, the reigning NFL champions — who won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2023 and 2024 — signed the 23-year-old Welsh rugby player to what the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported is a three-year contract that includes some guaranteed money and a signing bonus.
The 6-foot-3, 209-pound Rees-Zammit — who in January left the U.K. for Florida to begin working for his shot at the NFL — trained as a running back/wide receiver. The athlete, who's played wing and fullback in rugby, has been a member of the British and Irish Lions, won the 2021 Six Nations with Wales and at the club level played for Gloucester in the Premiership union.
Join us as we take a look at some of the best photos of the new NFL recruit from his days as a U.K. rugby stars…
Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales carries the ball during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 quarter-final match between Wales and Argentina at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France, on Oct. 14, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit poses for a photo after the Wales Rugby World Cup squad announcement press conference on Aug. 21, 2023.
Just months later, he went from the United Kingdom to Chiefs Kingdom!
The Kansas City Chiefs announced Rees-Zammit's signing on March 29, tweeting, "Rees-Lightning has arrived," alongside a lightning bolt emoji.
"Help us officially welcome @LouisReesZammit to Chiefs Kingdom!" the team added.
The Chiefs later tweeted more about his speed, writing that the player "once clocked 24.2 miles per hour in a rugby match."
MORE: See the best pictures of Travis Kelce as the Chiefs beat the 49ers in overtime in the 2024 Super Bowl
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Wales' wing Louis Rees-Zammit is tackled by Argentina's flanker Marcos Kremer during the France 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Wales and Argentina at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France, on Oct. 14, 2023.
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Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit and then-girlfriend Saffron Barker, an English YouTuber, influencer and podcast host, made their red carpet debut as a couple at the premiere of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" in London on Nov. 9, 2023.
Four months later, the former "Strictly Come Dancing" star confirmed on social media that she and the rugby star — who in January moved to Florida to begin 10 weeks of training for an opportunity to join the NFL through the league's International Player Pathway program — had split.
She previously revealed how they met on the podcast she hosts with Anastasia Kingsnorth, explaining, as reported by WalesOnline, "We actually matched on Raya. We actually had no idea who each other were. From there he followed me and messaged me on Instagram."
As for what she liked about him, Saffron said, "I think the thing that I found most attractive about him was that he was very forward." One night when she and Anastasia went out, "I was like, 'Oh my God, he's messaged me this!' He, like, out of nowhere said, 'We should FaceTime.' I was like, 'OK!' We literally FaceTimed and then we FaceTimed pretty much every day since. And so that's how that happened!"
Saffron also liked that they had "the same sense of humor," she said, adding, "He's very sarcastic, and like, witty, but also from the minute I met him, like, he was just so polite."
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Prince William greets rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales at the Wales vs. Fiji match during the Rugby World Cup 2023 on Sept. 10, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit of Gloucester kicks during Edinburgh Rugby vs. Gloucester during the EPCR Challenge Cup at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Jan. 13, 2024.
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Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit is seen here at a World Cup press conference at the Stade Mayol in Toulon, France, on Oct. 12, 2023.
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Wales' Louis Rees-Zammit is seen in action against Argentina's Guido Petti Pagadizabal during the Rugby World Cup 2023 quarter-final match between Wales and Argentina in Marseille, France, on Oct. 14, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit attends Wales Rugby World Cup training camp in Fiesch, Switzerland, on July 9, 2023.
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Wales' Louis Rees-Zammit is seen in action during the Rugby World Cup 2023 Pool C between Wales and Portugal at the Nice stadium in southern France on Sept. 16, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit is photographed on July 27, 2023, while doing Wales Rugby training in Turkey in preparation for the Rugby World Cup.
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Louis Rees-Zammit trains during the Wales Rugby captains run on Oct. 13, 2023, ahead of the team's quarter-final match against Argentina.
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Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales evades Ilaisa Droasese of Fiji during a 2023 Rugby World Cup match at the Stade de Bordeaux in France on Sept. 10, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales is tackled by Joe Cokanasiga of England during a Wales vs. England match during the Vodafone Summer Series on Aug. 5, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales thanks fans during the Wales vs. Argentina match during the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter final 1 at the International Rugby Union Stade de Marseille in France on Oct. 14, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit trains during a Wales Rugby gym session on Oct. 10, 2023, in the week leading up to the team's quarter-final match against Argentina.
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Charles Ollivon of France and Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales are seen in action during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Wales in Saint-Denis near Paris on March 18, 2023.
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Louis Rees-Zammit of Gloucester celebrates his second-half try with teammate Caolan Englefield during the Edinburgh Rugby vs. Gloucester match during the EPCR Challenge Cup at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Jan. 13, 2024.
