John Taufa Lotulelei (born December 4, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

. He is also the CEO of a roofing company in Dallas, Texas.

Early years

Lotulelei attended

Henry Perrine Baldwin High School Henry Perrine Baldwin High School is a public high school in Wailuku, Hawaii. Serving in the major commercial, industrial, and municipal communities of the island of Maui, its curriculum offers a wide range of courses, including Advanced Placement ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Lotulelei was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

after the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

on April 27. On October 2, 2013 Lotulelei was released by the Seahawks to make room for quarterback B. J. Daniels. Lotulelei made Seattle's 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent from UNLV and had played in two games, making three tackles overall. Seattle paid Lotulelei a signing bonus of $25,000 last spring, the highest given to any undrafted free agent, and Lotulelei was an early training camp standout.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On October 3, 2013, Lotulelei was claimed off waivers by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. He was waived/injured on August 2, 2014 and was subsequently placed on injured reserve. On August 3, 2014, he was placed on injured reserve. On October 10, 2015, he was waived. On October 12, 2015, he was placed on injured reserve. On October 16, 2015, he was waived from injured reserve.

Oakland Raiders

On November 25, 2015, Lotulelei was signed to the Raiders' practice squad. On December 23, 2015, the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

promoted Lotulelei to the 53 man roster and placed

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Mario Edwards Jr. on the Injured Reserve. On September 3, 2016, Lotulelei was released by the Raiders as part of final roster cuts.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 3, 2017, Lotulelei signed a reserve/future contract with the Dallas Cowboys. He was waived/injured on August 25, 2017 and placed on injured reserve.

San Diego Fleet (AAF)

On November 9, 2018, Lotulelei signed with the

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF). The league ceased operations in April 2019.

The Spring League

Lotulelei was selected by the Jousters of

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

during its player selection draft on October 12, 2020.

Personal life

Lotulelei is the cousin of

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

Star Lotulelei Starlite Lotulelei Jr. ( ; born December 20, 1989) is a Tongan professional American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college foo ...

, who was selected in the first round of the

, playing for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

References

External links

UNLV Rebels bio

Seattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotulelei, John 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Hawaii American football linebackers UNLV Rebels football players Seattle Seahawks players Jacksonville Jaguars players Oakland Raiders players Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Fleet players People from Wailuku, Hawaii Sportspeople from Maui County, Hawaii American people of Tongan descent The Spring League players