Everything Happens for a Reason: Michael Badejo’s Unbreakable Wolfpack Journey

The Washington Wolfpack defense has become a force this season. They’re tenacious, coordinated, and dominant. One of the major pieces of that front is Michael Badejo, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound defensive lineman wearing No. 34. He has terrorized quarterbacks, piling up sacks that placed him near the top of the league. 

Unfortunately, as the playoffs approach, Badejo watches from the sideline with a sprained ankle from a recent game. However, he isn’t sitting around and sulking, as bad as he wants to be back on the field. Instead, he studies film, offers insights to his brothers on the line, and cheers every rep as if he were still in the trenches. The words that guide him come as naturally as breathing. Those words are, “Everything happens for a reason.”

The Spark On A Dallas Street

Long before the Wolfpack, before Europe, before the HBCU, there was a kid who moved with his family from Nigeria to Texas at the age of 7, playing pickup ball on a neighborhood street. A coach spotted him and asked the simple question that changed everything. “Where are your parents at? You’re a big kid. I think you can play the game of football for a long time.”

Badejo’s parents had soccer and track in their blood. Football was never the plan. But after that conversation, the game claimed him. I asked Michael when he fell in love with the game. 

“A very young age,” he recalls. “I feel like that’s when I fell in love with it, playing quarterback, running back, and defensive line. I think I kind of knew, all right, this is, this is the game for me.”

At Mansfield Timberview High School, the stakes rose. Coaches from different position groups competed for his talents. One day quarterback, the next running back, then the defensive line. Badejo embraced it. “Whatever it takes to win,” was his motto. The coaches told him that being able to play multiple spots could take him far. It taught him adaptability and versatility. 

“Being versatile was probably the biggest thing,” he says. “Playing more than one position, that can take you far.” Eventually he knew he had to settle on a position and the defensive line became his home.

The Pivot That Delivered

Thirty scholarship offers poured in after high school. Badejo chose SMU to stay close to home in Dallas, to play in front of family and friends. However, after coaching changes, he faced a choice. He transferred to Texas Southern University, an HBCU college. What he found there was more than playing time. He found brotherhood, connection, and a network that would sustain him long after graduation. At TSU, he blossomed as a pass rusher, earning multiple accolades.

The transfer had felt like failure at first. The degree from SMU he had dreamed of seemed lost. However, with the transfer and then the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility because of COVID, it worked out. Badejo was able to stay and earn not only his bachelor’s at TSU, but also completed a master’s degree. The start of the transfer, however, was a tough moment for Badejo.

“When I had to transfer from SMU to Texas Southern,” he reflects. “It was kind of a dream already after going into year one and year two at SMU to graduate from SMU. Education is very important in my family. But everything happens for a reason. Me transferring, being able to get two degrees, and then go start my draft prep. It was a blessing. I can’t complain about that.”

After college, Badejo had interest from NFL teams but didn’t land a roster spot. Again, Badejo kept moving and pushing forward. He played in the IFL with the San Diego Strike Force, then crossed oceans to the European League of Football (ELF) and the German Football League (GFL). In one season in the GFL, he helped his team reach the championship game. He led in sacks and tackles for loss that year.

“The game is everywhere,” he says. “I didn’t know that going into the process of declaring for the draft. I didn’t know the game was everywhere. I just knew about Arena, Canadian and all that. The game is overseas, and it’s a beautiful sight.”

The Wolfpack Standard

This season in Everett with the Washington Wolfpack, the defense has clicked. Under head coach JR Wells, the entire team has bought into a simple, non-negotiable philosophy. “The standard is the standard.” No complaining and no shortcuts. Communication and brotherhood have become a foundation.

Badejo has been a wrecking ball off the edge. He’s quick, powerful, and relentless. Quarterbacks feel him before they see him. After every sack, the fans see Badejo dance, celebrating with the joy of a kid who still loves the game he fell for years ago.

Then came the injury last week against the Michigan Arsenal. Conversations were had about seeing if he could play through it or protect and rehab for the playoffs. They chose the long view. However, Badejo still shows up to every training offering an extra set of eyes for the defensive line, while also rehabbing.

“Injuries happen within the game,” he says. “And I love the game so much, I’ll do anything for my brothers, regardless. I’m still coming to the trainings. I’m doing rehab on the side. I’m supporting them.” 

The Driver And The Brand

His mother, Margaret, has been the constant. She has been a huge part of his life and upbringing, filling both parental roles. She is his sounding board and his quiet engine. Every time doubt creeps in, he thinks of her. She pushed him when the road was toughest. I asked what keeps him going even after he’s faced some setbacks throughout his career.

“Honestly, I go back and think about my mom. She’s always in my mind. She’s my driver, you know?”

If he could speak to young athletes chasing the same dream, especially those from backgrounds like his, he would repeat the line that has carried him.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Badejo says. “I know I say this so much. It’s repetitive, but it’s so deep to a point where that small slogan can go with you for so long past football and in life. You know, everything happens for a reason. You just put all your hard work into something you love. There’s gonna be bumps in the road regardless, and you just gotta keep telling yourself everything happens for a reason with a smile on your face.”

When his playing days end, he wants to be remembered as the guy who left it all on the field and off it. 

“On and off the field, I just left it all out there and never gave up. Never complained, just went out there even when I’m banged up, just went out there and did what I love with a smile on my face,” Badejo said when I asked him how he wanted to be remembered. 

The Road Ahead

The Wolfpack are built for this moment. Badejo’s ankle is healing. Playoffs await. He is hungry to return, to hit quarterbacks again, to dance after another sack. But he carries no bitterness about the injury. It fits the pattern of his life.

“It’s not always pretty,” he reflects, “Out of my professional career and college, this was probably one of my best seasons ever. But everything happens for a reason. I think this is success and there’s more to come, you know? Being able to get back up and hear the news that I’m going to come back and play in the playoffs, you know, more success is about to come. And not just for myself. For the team.”

The kid from Nigeria who moved to Dallas at seven. The versatile high school star and college transfer who earned two degrees. The global pro who has led teams on two continents. The Wolfpack defensive lineman watching from the sideline monetarily, already preparing for his return.

Every chapter looked uncertain at the time. Every pivot felt like loss before it revealed a gain. Michael Badejo has been through it enough to know the truth he repeats like a prayer. Everything happens for a reason, and the best reasons are still unfolding.