Who Is Retiring NFL Player Carl Nassib?

It was announced Wednesday that Carl Nassib would retire from the National Football League after seven seasons. It was a “bittersweet moment” for the linebacker and defensive end, who said on Instagram that leaving the league will help him focus more on Rayze, his social media app that connects donors to nonprofits.

“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, 30, wrote.

In his professional career, the Penn State alum played for the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Las Vegas Raiders between 2016 and 2022.

In 2021, while playing with the Las Vegas Raiders, Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out publicly as gay.

“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,” he said in a video at the time.

The team released him in March 2022.

Many in the league supported Nassib’s announcement, and his release was a cost-cutting measure and not related to his identity.

Last September, he made the final roster of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after signing with the team a month earlier. He previously played two seasons with the team before joining the Raiders. Nassib has been dating Søren Dahl – an Olympic swimmer who was born in Denmark but lives in the U.S.