CHARLOTTE — When Tetairoa McMillan walked across the draft stage last April, he wasn't the first Polynesian football player to do; but when he placed a lei around the commissioner's neck, he was the first to ever conduct the symbolic gesture that means so much in his culture.

It was a statement from the Carolina Panthers receiver that he wasn't going to just be a name on a list of Polynesian football players in the NFL; he was going to proudly be a representative.

"We kind of just wanted to do something that, you know, that's never been done," McMillan explained at the time. "So me being the first—not only Polynesian—but the first person to put the lei on the commissioner, it's honestly a blessing, and I'm super glad that we did it, and hopefully we started a tradition."

Miles away, Puka Nacua watched in awe. Despite exceeding expectations and setting multiple records as a rookie, making the Pro Bowl in his first season, and dominating in the years since, Nacua was a fifth-round pick coming out of college for the Rams. He didn't get a chance to walk across the stage back in 2023.

Watching from afar as McMillan used his moment in the spotlight to highlight his culture, Nacua—who is of both Polynesian and Samoan descent—felt an immediate kinship to his fellow receiver.

"I think it's a blessing and honestly, I look up to TMac as well in the sense of, to go in the first round, to be the one to set the tone for the next generation of not only for football players but also obviously for the Polynesian community," expressed Nacua last week during the Pro Bowl.

"Because when you're on the draft day, and you're on that stage, the ability for the eyes and for your message to be shown to the world—it's a great honor I hold very dear to my heart."

McMillan and Nacua are far from the only two Polynesian players in the NFL. The Polynesian Hall of Fame estimates around 80 players currently in the NFL, and guys like Penei Sewell, Tua Tagovailoa, DeForest Buckner, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Marcus Mariota (to name a few) have all been named the Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year in the past.

But being Polynesian and representing the culture aren't always synonymous. McMillan and Nacua have made an unspoken pact in a way to honor the platform they've been given and be spokespersons for the place they love.

"There's a few other Polynesian receivers, but I feel like they don't rep it maybe as hard as (me and Puka) do," said McMillan last week. "So I mean, obviously, seeing what Puka is doing is incredible. He's obviously up for offensive player of the year. So, as a Polynesian, that's definitely something that we take pride in."

Jaxon Smith-Njigba ended up taking home offensive player of the year, but Nacua did finish the season as the receptions leader, a second-time Pro Bowler, and a first-team All-Pro behind a career 129 receptions, 1,715 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 80 first downs. And McMillan did walk away with offensive rookie of the year honors last week, after leading all rookie pass-catchers in every major category.

Beyond the representation, Nacua sees some of his and McMillan's success as a dividend of their heritage.

"I think obviously (TMac's) size and his stature, but then I think it's the mindset," Nacua posed as to why McMillan was so dominant in 2025.

"I know as a Polynesian boy some of the things that maybe were a part of his childhood and the things that maybe are close to his heart and the strength that he has, not only physically but in the support system and in the understanding of himself; I think it is something that you see when you go out there and you understand that when a player has confidence in how they move on the football field, you can see that he always has that confidence."

When McMillan stepped on stage last week in San Francisco to accept his rookie of the year award, it was—once again—with a lei handmade by his grandmother around his neck, a visual bookend to the previous 10 months and a reminder, representation comes in many ways.

And this current generation of Polynesian receivers in the NFL will take every opportunity to shine that light.

"Like we said, there's only a few of us," explained McMillan. "So I mean we take pride in our culture, the people, so any chance that we get to represent our people and our culture, we try to make sure that we do it to the best of our ability."