Former University of Manitoba Bisons football star David Onyemata has agreed to a three-year, US$35 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL, according to reports.

The 30-year-old defensive tackle was a 2016 fourth-round pick of the Saints and had spent his entire career in New Orleans.

He was the first Manitoba player ever drafted by an NFL squad.

Onyemata is originally from Nigeria but immigrated to Canada when he was in his late teens.

He began playing football when he arrived at the U of M, and was Canadian university football’s top lineman five years later (2015).