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Jovan Olafioye (born December 16, 1987) is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman. He signed with the BC Lions as a free agent, after going undrafted in the 2009 NFL draft. Jovan attended the 2009 Detroit Lions rookie mini camp. He played junior college football at Grand Rapids Community College for a year before attending North Carolina Central University.

Professional career

BC Lions

Olafioye signed with the BC Lions on April 20, 2010, and started all 18 games en route to being named a CFL West All-Star. For the next six seasons, he again started all 18 games and was named a CFL All-Star (All Pro) every year, while also winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award in 2012. The 7x West All Star was also a runner-up to the award in 2011 and 2015. He won his first Grey Cup championship with the Lions in 2011. Following the 2016 BC Lions season in March 2017, rumours began circulating that the Lions were seeking to deal Olafioye to the Alouettes.

St. Louis Rams

In 2012, there were as many as 15 NFL teams interested in working out Olafioye during the option year window following his second season with B.C. The St. Louis Rams guaranteed him $85,000 in base salary in the first two years. But after agreeing to terms, Olafioye’s contract was disapproved four days later when he failed his physical.

Montreal Alouettes

On March 27, 2017, Olafioye was traded to the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for the rights to Canadian lineman David Foucault and Vincent Brown. With an estimated salary of $200,000 it was reported the Lions made the deal to free up some cap space. One week after being traded to Montreal, Olafioye and the Als agreed to a 3-year contract extension through the 2019 CFL season. He played in 12 games with the Alouettes in 2017 due to injuries and was released the day before the start of 2018 training camp on May 19, 2018.

BC Lions (II)

Shortly after his release from the Alouettes, Olafioye re-signed with the BC Lions on May 19, 2018. He announced his retirement from professional football after the 2018 CFL season.

References

1. "Lions sign pair of import O-linemen". April 20, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
2. "Als in trade talks with Lions for Olafioye – Article – TSN". TSN. March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
3. Beamish, Mike (December 1, 2012). "B.C. Lions star Jovan Olafioye will sit, wait for NFL's call". vancouversun.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
4. Beamish, Mike (June 3, 2012). "Lions' luck holds with Jovan Olafioye". thestarphoenix.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
5. "Als get All-Star OL Olafioye from Lions – Article – TSN". TSN. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
6. "Alouettes, Olafioye ink 3-year extension". CFL.ca. April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
7. ^ "Olafioye released; quickly joins Lions". CFL.ca. May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
8. "Big O Leaves Game With No Regrets". CFL.ca. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.

External links

• BC Lions profile
• Canadian Football League profile
• CFL profile (old link) at the Wayback Machine (archived September 11, 2015)
• Montreal Alouettes profile

• 1987 births
• Living people
• American football offensive linemen
• Players of Canadian football from Detroit
• BC Lions players
• Canadian football offensive linemen
• Grand Rapids Community College alumni
• Montreal Alouettes players
• North Carolina Central Eagles football players
• Players of American football from Detroit