Efe Obada has called time on his incredible 10-year NFL career that started with his first career game at 22 for the London Warriors.His NFL career was improbable, given how late he picked up the game, but it seemed impossible given his upbringing.Born in Nigeria, Obada was trafficked to the Netherlands to be with his mother and his sister.The NFL star was then taken to the UK, along with his sister by a stranger and left on a street in east London.The pair then ended up in the care of social services, who kept Obada and his sister together and placed them with black families in south London.An experience that Obada has credited with his personal development, though it is far from the ‘Disney version’ that is already out there in the wild. Efe Obada is pictured in action for the Buffalo Bills in January 20222In one case, Obada said he and his sister were treated like domestic slaves by one of the families the pair were placed with.Not only did his life experiences help shape his approach to life in the NFL, it has also played a massive role in his new foundation – it means so much to him, that Obada has labelled it his true calling after he made the decision to hang up his cleats.’Man it’s huge,’ he told the Daily Mail while speaking of his foundation, ‘This has been like years, years in the making.’I have been doing it unofficially my whole life, there is so much stuff that I do behind the scenes and, you know, I think that you shouldn’t promote your good deeds, just to keep them authentic and genuine.’But this is something that holds very close to me and I want to be able to create a system and a programme that supports the kids that I resonate with, you know, being in foster care was huge, it shaped me.’And it is those life experiences that helped him become such a success at a sport he had never played before the age of 22.’I feel like every experience that I’ve had has prepared me in some ways,’ Obada explained of his life in care.’Living in, being in foster care, living out of a suitcase, bouncing around from home to home and being uncomfortable in an environment.’I had to adapt, have to people please or code switch, and that prepared me for the NFL because, you know I am in a very hostile environment.’One day I am on this team, next day I’m getting cut and then I am going to another team.’Being on the fringes of an NFL team comes with a whole host of challenges, not least the cut throat nature of having friends that are also on that roster bubble.Anyone familiar with NFL roster building and transactions will have seen players cut on the final day of training camps.For the lucky few, they make the practice squad, keeping them around in case the team wants to add them to the active roster at a later date.But the truth of the matter is that every day in training camp is a scrap, and any player wanting to maintain their place on the team has to be very comfortable with the difficulties of the situation.’Everybody is part of the team, but we are all independent contractors at the same time,’ he explained.’So you’re very uncomfortable, someone’s always trying to come and get your job, sort of living in that fight or flight mode, so there’s some parallels in my upbringing in that regard.’So the lessons that I’ve learned from my life experience were definitely transferable when I got to the league.’It helped me navigate that system and that would help me hold my own and carve out a career and a name for myself.’While Obada credits the life experiences he had with having such a successful NFL career, it is clear the former Dallas Cowboys star wants those coming after him, don’t have to endure the same pitfalls and struggles he went through in life.’There’s just so many things, so many barriers, insecurities, the low self-esteem, the lack of identity that come with it.’I just want to support these kids, I want to show them that their life matters and that they can rewrite their lives and define their future.’That they have a voice and they can fulfil their full potential and I want to be that thing that I wish I had.’I want to be a system that I wish I had when I was coming out, it would have made my life easier, because I made it out and I became a football player, but so many of my friends, so many people don’t.’You know, a lot of people get drug addictions to cope and end up dead because of the circumstances and situations, or never amount to their full potential, and I don’t want that.’I don’t want that for the community I care about, don’t want that for the kids, because we all matter.’We have so much potential, that is what I really believe and that’s why I want to do this.’Along with his foundation, Obada has made a move into punditry and has been seen frequently on Sky Sports’ NFL coverage.And that is just another step in his incredible journey from trafficked child, to playing for the London Warriors to making it to the NFL. Obada (right) is pictured at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium alongside King CharlesBut the work doesn’t stop there for the 34-year-old, who has fully embraced his position as a role model for the next generation of British American football players as well as those who seek to join the media.’Even with the TV thing, well one, I had to learn the whole game in the NFL and now I’m trying to transition to another space and learn and start all the way from the ground up.’But it is what it is, like I try to make the most of the opportunities and then develop and become the best version of the person that can survive and capitalise, I am very blessed and I am very grateful.’I want for nothing, my family wants for nothing, so now where I am at in life, it’s always about giving back.’It’s always about uplifting the next person because this one person who has achieved something, has been able to impact so many different people.’So if I could do that for someone else, I just know that the knock-on effect is going to be huge, and then they will do that for someone else, and so on, and that is how to make real change.’And it is ultimately that desire that led to Obada’s decision to retire from the NFL as he seeks to inspire the next generation of people.’I think that just looking at how much I have accomplished, you know, what I’m trying to achieve and where I’m at right now in life, I just think I am ready to walk away from it.’You know and I am still healthy, and I still have a lot of energy and to be able to pour so much into that next chapter.’