Kansas City Chiefs sign linebacker who grew up in Sweden as undrafted free agent
Jordan Genmark Heath’s pursuits as a kid included hockey and soccer but he gravitated toward football, which was a bit of a problem.
That’s because Genmark Heath grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. In an interview with Last Word On Sports, he estimated 600 total kids play football in the country, and his best instruction came from watching Chargers games on television.
“We would actually stay up and watch the Chargers games until like 2 a.m.,” Genmark Heath said. “Then we would take a quick nap and go to school.”
But football quickly became his passion, although it seemed like he wouldn’t have an opportunity to play at more than a club level in Sweden.
“I didn’t really think about that being an attainable goal for me,” Genmark Heath told ABC57 in 2018, “but now I guess I’m in a different boat.”
That boat will be docking in Kansas City as Genmark Heath, a linebacker, was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, according to Mike Regalado of Bruin Report.
His journey to an NFL rookie minicamp began when Genmark Heath’s parents decided to help their son pursue his dreams by relocating to San Diego when he was a freshman.
“I didn’t really know a lot about college football,” Genmark Heath told Last Word on Sports. “My big dream was to play high school football.”
Football is not offered in Swedish schools. But Genmark Heath, who is 6-1 and 225 pounds, got an opportunity in the United States thanks in part to a lucky break.
“Funny story,” Genmark Heath said last year in a Pac-12 Network interview. “My stepdad actually won a green card in the lottery so he came home one day, he’s like, ‘We won the lottery’ and we thought we were rich forever.
“Without my parents sacrificing everything, they finally got established in their companies and whatnot and we’re looking at a good life, and they just decided this is my dream, they decided to back of my dream. Like let’s drop everything, start fresh, don’t really know anybody but let’s pack up and leave and we’re loving it out here. That was a gamble but it’s working out.”
Indeed.
In San Diego, he learned about football from his high school coaches — and by watching YouTube videos. Turns out Genmark Heath was a standout linebacker. He played for Notre Dame from 2017-19 and after graduation, transferred to UCLA when he played last year.
And now he’ll get a chance to show the Chiefs what he can do. He’s also ready to answer questions about his background.
“I get it a lot, especially when I come into new settings,” Genmark Heath told the Pac-12 Network. “There’s not a lot of European football players or let alone Swedish black guys out there. I don’t mind it to be honest. I think it’s a cool interesting fact about myself.“
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 9:27 AM.
