New York Giants star Jamie 'The Scottish Hammer' Gillan would love NFL game at Murrayfield

He is one of Scotland’s highest-paid sportsmen after putting pen to paper on a three-year contract extension worth $9m.

But Jamie Gillan, punter with the New York Giants, has never had the chance to play in his homeland.

Now, with the NFL taking more and more regular season games to Europe and beyond, the 28-year-old would love nothing more than to don the famous Giants blue uniform back in Scotland.

And having had a taste of international games in London in 2022 and Munich last year, he would love to see a game staged in Edinburgh, back where he was schooled and played rugby before moving his life across the Atlantic.

Gillan told STV Sport: “The first time I went over was a lot of fun. Getting to play in Tottenham’s stadium was amazing.

“I actually got to go out a couple of days prior and go to a rugby club that I used to play for when I was really young.

“That whole experience – playing there, the crowd not just being Giants fans or Green Bay fans but a mixture of all kinds of fans – that was a great atmosphere and great fun.

“It would be cool to get back there. I’d love to play in Dublin or if we could somehow play in Murrayfield – that would be cool.

“Murrayfield is in the capital, in Edinburgh, so that would be a lot of fun. I would love to do that.”

Gillan – nicknamed ‘The Scottish Hammer’ in American Football – is entering his seventh season in the NFL, having previously spent time with the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills before arriving in New York in 2022.

He is now a veteran presence in the Giants locker room, and while kickers spend more time away from the core players on offense and defense to hone their specialism, Gillan senses a change in the atmosphere around the squad.

The Giants have had back-to-back disappointing years, winning just three games last season and six in 2023.

Key additions in this year’s NFL Draft – including highly rated linebacker Abdul Carter and first round quarterback Jaxson Dart – are contributing to a return of the feelgood factor in Gillan’s team.

The Inverness-born player said: “The Xs and Os are obviously extremely important but another big portion of winning, I believe, is team chemistry and ‘the vibe’ in the locker room.

“So far the vibe has been great. The guys are funny, we are making relationships.

“This is a good time of year to create those relationships because we have time to go play golf after [practice] or we can go get dinner together and really get to know one another.

“I do believe that is really important for winning games on Sunday because you care about one another then. It is not just about business, you have pals you are playing with.

“So far that has been really good. The rookies have been great, they’ve been a lot of fun and vocal. Our free agent signings have been awesome too.

“Everything is looking really good and trending in the right direction so we have just got to keep on top of that and keep doing it.”

But the arrival of Dart may indirectly lead to a change for Gillan – they are currently both wearing the number six jersey, and only one of them can carry it into the season.

Asked if any conversations had been had as to who will get to keep the number, Gillan laughed: “Yeah there have been a couple, we will see how it pans out. We will see in the next week or two what happens!”