YouTube taught a Japanese teen how to kick field goals. Now he’s in the NFL.

Nbcwashington · May 15, 2026 · 2298 words · By Andrew Greif; NBC News

NFL International Expansion Underdog Narrative American Dream

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What to know about NFL International Expansion

Kansei Matsuzawa made up his mind to become an NFL kicker knowing almost nothing about the NFL.

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Kansei Matsuzawa made up his mind to become an NFL kicker knowing almost nothing about the NFL.

Why it matters

Matsuzawa was 19, lived in Japan and had never kicked a football.

Common ground

He knew two players — Joe Montana and Tom Brady — and not a single rule.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this NFL International Expansion story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that making his first 25 field goals last fall, matching the NCAA record for most consecutive makes to begin a season, which had stood for 43 years?
How does this story connect NFL International Expansion with Underdog Narrative over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/nfl/youtube-taught-japanese-teen-kick-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7

cancel Disputed 3

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “making his first 25 field goals last fall, matching the NCAA record for most consecutive makes to begin a season, which had stood for 43 years”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Matsuzawa is one of 12 players, representing 10 nations, in this year’s International Player Pathway class”

DISPUTED

The claim states there are 12 players from 10 nations, but a web search result explicitly states this year's IPP class is 'made up of 14 players from 13 countries'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — International Player Pathway (IPP) is a program run by the National Football League (NFL) to increase the number of players from outside the United States or Canada in the NFL. The program was formed …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Player_Pathway

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jotham Russell (born 8 June 2003) is an Australian professional American football defensive end. Previously a rugby league player for the Brisbane Broncos, he joined the NFL through the International …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotham_Russell

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nathaniel Salmon (born 12 February 2004) is a New Zealand American football tight end and basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League (NBL) for the Manawatu Jets and Wellington Sain…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Salmon

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “More than 70 players from the IPP program have gone on to sign with teams, including 11 who have made active rosters”

DISPUTED

Sources provide conflicting numbers. One source says '70 international players have signed', while another says '37 international players have signed' with 'five have made active rosters', contradicting the claim of 11 making active rosters.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States.Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The IPP program, established in 2017, aims to identify elite international talent and provide them with opportunities to train, improve their skills, and earn a spot on an NFL roster.Since its incepti…
https://punchng.com/five-nigerians-make-13-man-shortlist-for…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — So far, 37 international players have signed with NFL teams since the program’s inception with 18 IPP athletes currently on NFL rosters, while five have made active rosters.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nfl/nfl-2025-how-australian-lai…

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Claim 4: “Hocking College, a community college in the rural, 4,500-person town of Nelsonville, Ohio”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 5: “the league started [the International Player Pathway program] in 2017”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources explicitly state that the International Player Pathway (IPP) program was launched/started in 2017.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The International Player Pathway (IPP) program, launched in 2017, is the NFL's structured pipeline for non-American and non-Canadian athletes — those with elite competitive backgrounds in other sports…
https://ames-nfl.com/en/articles/CharlieSmyth

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The NFL began its International Player Pathway Program in 2017. An international combine is held in Germany each October, and players receive further development and instruction at the IMG Academy in …
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/27/four-international-players…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In 2017 the NFL started the International Player Pathway program, allowing the four teams in the NFC South an extra practice squad spot for a player from Europe. The Panthers used that spot on Obada.
https://sports.yahoo.com/de-efe-obada-makes-panthers-amazing…

help

Claim 6: “A semiprofessional league, the X League, was founded in 1971 [in Japan]”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the founding date of the X League in Japan.

schedule

Claim 7: “the Raiders lose, 33-13, in their season opener to the Los Angeles Rams [in 2018]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 8: “in 2024 he went 12-for-16, with a season long of 41 yards [at University of Hawaii]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 9: “He graduated from high school in 2017”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding Kansei Matsuzawa's high school graduation date.

schedule

Claim 10: “finishing 27-of-29 on the season to earn consensus all-America honors, the first time that had happened in Hawaii’s school history”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

cancel

Claim 11: “Just 3% of players on NFL rosters last season were foreign-born”

DISPUTED

One web search result states that 'Only 5% of players are born abroad', which contradicts the claim that 'Just 3% of players' were foreign-born.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — NFL+ is an over-the-top subscription service operated by the National Football League (NFL) in the United States. The service offers live-streaming of the radio broadcasts of all NFL games, streaming …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL+

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “Matsuzawa made 12 of his 17 kicks during his second season at Hocking”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 13: “Kansei Matsuzawa, 27, became the first Japanese-born player ever signed by an NFL team when he agreed to a deal as an undrafted free agent with the Raiders”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including Wikipedia and news reports, confirm Kansei Matsuzawa is a Japanese-born player who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent and is the first Japanese-born player to do so.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kansei Matsuzawa (松澤寛政, Matsuzawa Kansei; born 8 January 1999), nicknamed "The Tokyo Toe", is a Japanese American football kicker for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansei_Matsuzawa

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Japanese gridiron football player (born 1999). Kansei Matsuzawa.Kansei Matsuzawa (born 8 January 1999), nicknamed "The Tokyo Toe", is a Japanese American football placekicker for the Las Vegas Raiders…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansei_Matsuzawa

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Kansei Matsuzawa, 27, became the first Japanese-born player ever signed by an NFL team when he agreed to a deal as an undrafted free agent with the Raiders. An illustration depicting Kansei Matsuzawa …
https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/nfl/youtube-taught-japanese-t…

+ 1 more evidence source

verified

Claim 14: “The International Federation of American Football counts football-playing members in 79 countries”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms the existence of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), but the provided evidence does not state the specific number of member countries (79).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of American football associations. The IFAF oversees the organization and promotion of all international co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Federation_of_Am…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of international sports federations, each of which serves as a non-governmental governing body for a given sport and administers its sport at a world level, most often crafting rules, p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_sports_f…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA; lit. 'International Federation of Association Football') is an international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 15: “Jordan Mailata, a former rugby player-turned-All Pro offensive lineman with Philadelphia [was part of the IPP program]”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and ESPN confirm that Jordan Mailata joined the NFL via the International Player Pathway Program.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — He joined the NFL via the league's International Player Pathway Program and was selected in the seventh round, 233rd overall by the Eagles in the 2018 NFL draft. In 2025, Mailata was an integral part …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Mailata

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Eagles LT Jordan Mailata helping pave way for international players -- especially in the AFC South.Since 2017, the Pathway program has created an avenue for international players to get a shot to play…
https://www.espn.com.au/blog/houston-texans/post/_/id/26769/…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Bryce entered Mailata into the league’s fledgling International Player Pathway program, which launched in 2016.So the Eagles didn’t wait to see if Mailata would get assigned to their team through the …
https://www.theringer.com/2023/02/09/nfl/philadelphia-eagles…

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Claim 16: “The NFL’s Japan-focused Instagram account has fewer than 19,000 followers”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 17: “Four social media posts by the NFL about Matsuzawa’s unlikely route to the league have generated about 3 million impressions combined globally”

SINGLE SOURCE

While sources confirm Matsuzawa's identity and journey, none of the provided evidence mentions the specific metric of 'four social media posts' generating '3 million impressions'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Raiders

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 season will be the Las Vegas Raiders' 57th in the National Football League (NFL), their 67th overall, their seventh in Las Vegas, their second under general manager John Spytek and their firs…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Las_Vegas_Raiders_season

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.