The "throwing Samoan" joined the CFL and the BC Lions in 1978. Paopao dressed for only 2 games in his rookie season and didn't see any action, but saw increasing action in the next three season. In total Paopao played six seasons until 1983 with the Lions. His best season came in 1981 when he threw 421 passes , completing 54.4% of them for 3777 yards. Pappao signed as a free-agent with Saskatchwan for the 1984 season, putting up very good numbers with the Green Riders, by completing 57.4%, 60.4% and 57% of his passes in those three season, and twice going over 3000 yards passing. The Riders traded Pappap to Winnipeg in 1987 for LB Darrell Patterson, but was released in June of 1987 before the season begain. Paopao played one season in Ottawa before retiring and ending up a an assistant coach with the LIons in 1989. When the Lions needed a QB in 1990, Pappap unretired and completed a nice 61.2% of his 224 passes for 1852 yards and four touchdowns. After 1990, Paopao returned to coaching, including a stint with the expasnion Ottawa Renegades as head coach.
Paopao Named Head Coach of Waterloo University - February 20, 2013
| Year | Team | GP | PA | PC | % | Yds | TD | Int | Sacked | Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | BC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1979 | BC | 10 | 223 | 126 | 56.5 | 1508 | 7 | 13 | ||
| 1980 | BC | 10 | 231 | 145 | 62.8 | 2009 | 15 | 13 | ||
| 1981 | BC | 16 | 421 | 229 | 54.4 | 3777 | 28 | 23 | ||
| 1982 | BC | 14 | 214 | 115 | 53.7 | 1394 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 1983 | BC | 14 | 147 | 85 | 57.8 | 968 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 1984 | SASK | 15 | 453 | 260 | 57.4 | 3270 | 12 | 19 | ||
| 1985 | SASK | 12 | 447 | 270 | 60.4 | 3420 | 9 | 20 | ||
| 1986 | SASK | 17 | 363 | 207 | 57 | 2647 | 13 | 24 | ||
| 1987 | OTT | 17 | 285 | 147 | 51.6 | 1629 | 7 | 15 | ||
| 1990 | BC | 14 | 224 | 137 | 61.2 | 1852 | 14 | 7 |
| Year | Team | TC | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | BC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | BC | 27 | 16 | 0.6 | 0 | 9 |
| 1980 | BC | 22 | 57 | 2.6 | 0 | 13 |
| 1981 | BC | 15 | 25 | 1.7 | 0 | 6 |
| 1982 | BC | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 0 | 2 |
| 1983 | BC | 9 | 25 | 2.8 | 0 | 5 |
| 1984 | SASK | 31 | 74 | 2.4 | 0 | 9 |
| 1985 | SASK | 31 | 15 | 2.1 | 0 | 9 |
| 1986 | SASK | 17 | 27 | 1.6 | 0 | 2 |
| 1987 | OTT | 17 | 81 | 4.8 | 0 | 15 |
| 1990 | BC | 14 | 26 | 1.9 | 3 | 9 |
| Year | Team | F | FL | OFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | BC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | BC | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | BC | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1981 | BC | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| 1982 | BC | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | BC | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | SASK | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| 1985 | SASK | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| 1986 | SASK | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1987 | OTT | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | BC | 8 | 4 | 3 |
Paopap had one defensive tackle in 1987 and one in 1990.
Paopao had 2 punts for 109 yards, one single and a longest of 62 yards in 1985.
Paopao caught one pass for 11 yards in 1986.
