(Reuters) – Defensive end Carl Nassib, who became the first openly gay active NFL player when he came out in 2021, on Wednesday said he was retiring from the sport as the “luckiest guy on the planet”.
“This is a bittersweet moment for me but after seven seasons and just over 100 NFL games I am officially retiring from football to focus on my company Rayze,” Nassib, 30, said in a social media post.
“Football has given me more than I ever could have imagined. I can truly hang up my helmet for the last time knowing I gave it everything I had.”
Nassib’s announcement that he was gay in June, 2021 led to an outpouring of support from the league and his team, which praised his courage. Nassib’s Las Vegas Raiders jersey became the top seller after he came out.
“I hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary,” he said at the time.
In 2014, Michael Sam became the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL when he was selected by the St. Louis Rams but he never played a regular season game.
Other former NFL players have come out after they retired starting with running back David Kopay, who said he was gay in 1975.
Nassib played at Penn State before being recruited by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2016 draft. He played for the Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing with the Raiders ahead of the 2020 season.
He returned to the Bucs for 13 games last season and finishes his career with 25.5 sacks, 128 tackles and four forced fumbles across seven seasons.
“It was always my dream to play in the NFL, even as a walk-on, and I really feel like the luckiest guy on the planet,” Nassib said.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ed Osmond)
