Placekicker Donald De La Haye Jr. (Deestroying), San Antonio Brahmas (Instagram)
Anyone who thought it was a publicity stunt for the San Antonio Brahmas to sign placekicker Donald De La Haye Jr., also known as the social media star “Deestroying”, may be surprised to see he remains on the San Antonio Brahmas roster, while his main competitor in camp, Matthew Ammendola, was waived by the team today.
While Ammendola had NFL experience as recently as the 2023 season with the Houston Texans, many were convinced that bringing the relatively inexperienced De La Haye Jr. into camp was a publicity stunt.
In the football world, De La Haye Jr. is best known for videos demonstrating his kicking ability, as well as his sports-related skits and vlogs talking about his life journey. He played college football at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He gained fame when the NCAA banned him for profiting off his name and YouTube videos.
While the NCAA tried to force De La Haye to delete or demonetize his YouTube channel in order to stay with his college team, he ultimately chose to continue his channel normally, at the cost of his scholarship and NCAA eligibility. De La Haye sued UCF over this matter in July 2018 and settled to finish his education there.
Since then, De La Haye has continued to build his online persona with humorous skits on football stereotypes, kicker trick shot videos, gaming videos, and skits impersonating well-known players such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Tom Brady. Along with collaborations with Cam Newton, Antonio Brown, and Tyreek Hill, and partnerships with the NFL and other sports organizations, his YouTube channel has grown from 94,000 when De La Haye left UCF to over 5.78 million subscribers today.
Aside from social media success, De La Haye Jr. has tried to ignite a pro football career, signing with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League on May 19, 2019. He appeared in both 2019 preseason games, making one field goal attempt from 16 yards and recording one punt for 46 yards. As the season began, De La Haye was signed to the practice roster, where he continued to produce social media videos that showed him practicing kicks and speaking of his ultimate goal of making the NFL.
In 2023, De La Haye appeared at several XFL games to promote the league.
The UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas signed De La Haye Jr. on January 30, 2024, considering him as a potential replacement for Brahmas kicker John Parker Romo, who chose not to return after a successful 2023 season.
Now, one question remains. Can he kick well enough to make an XFL team? We will tell you that he seems to be taking this opportunity seriously. Only time will tell whether he turns an opportunity into pro football success.
