Jovan Olafioye (born December 16, 1987) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

who most recently played for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

. He signed with the

as a

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 ...

, after going undrafted in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

. Jovan attended the 2009

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

rookie mini camp. He played junior college football at

Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is a public community college in Grand Rapids, Michigan. History Grand Rapids Junior College was established on September 21, 1914, after University of Michigan faculty passed a resolution encouraging the ...

for a year before attending

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...

Professional career

BC Lions

Olafioye signed with the

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 The Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award is annually awarded to the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Leo Dandurand Trophy winner from the East Division, and the DeMarco-Becket Memo ...

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 The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

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 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

teams interested in working out Olafioye during the option year window following his second season with B.C. The

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

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 Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally cons ...

Montreal Alouettes

On March 27, 2017, Olafioye was traded to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

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 The 2018 CFL season was the 65th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 61st Canadian Football League season. Edmonton hosted the 106th Grey Cup on November 25, 2018. The CFL announced that this season will move to a 21- ...

References

External links

BC Lions profile

Canadian Football League profile
*
Montreal Alouettes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olafioye, Jovan 1987 births Living people American football offensive linemen American players of Canadian football BC Lions players Canadian football offensive linemen Grand Rapids Community College alumni Montreal Alouettes players North Carolina Central Eagles football players Sportspeople from Detroit