The NFL doesn’t have its first openly gay player yet, but it will when the 2014 NFL Draft comes along in early May.

Missouri defensive end Michael Sam revealed he is gay in an interview with ESPN’s Outside the Lines and The New York Times Sunday.

Sam’s announcement comes nearly a year after NBA player Jason Collins came out as gay in a story in Sports Illustrated. While Collins came out at the tail end of his career, Sam is out at the very beginning of his career. He has become a trailblazer for gay rights as he heads toward the NFL draft.

There’s going to be a lot riding on Sam, aside from the inevitable abuse he’ll suffer from unaccepting fans. He’s going to have to single-handedly defeat every stereotype that pervades NFL locker rooms.

It’s an impossible task for anyone to undergo alone; in fact, it’s almost guaranteed he won’t be able to. One man can’t change a culture by himself; but a culture can change with a team supporting someone.

The acceptance of Sam is going to be impossible to measure until he plays a down in the NFL. He’s in a difficult position, draft-wise. While he was a dominant defensive end with the Mizzou Tigers, good enough to win Co-Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Sam’s size and skill set leaves his NFL future a little murky.

Before his announcement, he was projected as a mid- to late-round pick due to the uncertainty of his position. While some will criticize NFL teams if Sam falls in the draft, they shouldn’t. Getting drafted at all will be a victory for gay rights. Sam produced too much for Mizzou to go undrafted. Someone will realize all the media coverage he brings with him will only be temporary, and they’ll take a shot on him. Remember, Manti Te’o’s imaginary girlfriend was not enough to distract a team from drafting him.

Whether or not the NFL is ready for its first openly gay athlete, it had better be come May.

Sam made the first step in breaking down the barriers that exist between professional sports and gay athletes. Collins never made another NBA appearance after coming out. Robbie Rogers, who plays for the LA Galaxy, became the first openly gay athlete to compete in an American sporting event.

While Rogers’ appearance was a landmark moment for the gay rights movement, there still has yet to be an openly gay athlete participate in any of the four major American sports: NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL.

That’s where Sam steps in. The NFL is the premier league in this country and, arguably, the world. A gay athlete getting drafted would be an achievement on its own, but Sam’s talent on the football field gives him the chance to be the first openly gay football player. There have been gay football players, but never have any of them come out while still playing

Sam will be entering a world where he’ll be the only one. But if the right things happen for him, it won’t matter at all in the long run.

“I’m not afraid to tell the world who I am. I’m Michael Sam: I’m a college graduate. I’m African American, and I’m gay,” he said to Outside the Lines. “I’m comfortable in my skin.”