Carl Nassib, who began his NFL (National Football League) career in 2016 after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns, has announced his retirement after seven consecutive seasons. Nassib made history in 2021 when, after coming out on Instagram, became the NFL’s first openly gay footballer.
“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 wrote in an Instagram post announcing his retirement.
The linebacker told People that he had actually been considering retirement as early as last season, but struggled to make the decision.
“This would have been my 23rd football season. I’ve been playing football since I was eight years old, and I’m really excited to move on to the next chapter of my life,” he said.
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Despite his retirement, Nassib has made a commitment to continue working with the NFL when it comes to matters of “diversity, equity, and inclusion”.
“I think that I can provide a very rare and specific view of how life is for an out gay player, and I think that there are some amazing opportunities that I can also learn,” he told People.
Nassib’s coming-out video, which he posted to Instagram during Pride Month in 2021, was generally well-received by players and the public alike. While other NFL players have come out as gay in the past, Nassib is the first to do so while actively playing in the NFL, a feat that has made him the league’s first openly gay footballer in history.
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“What’s up people,” Nassib said in the Instagram video at the time. “I’m at my house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends, and job a guy can ask for.”
Following his coming-out post, Nassib made a $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ youth at risk of suicide.
Over the course of his seven seasons in the NFL, Carl Nassib has played as an outer linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Las Vegas Raiders.
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