One day after Carl Nassib announced on social media he is gay, his jersey has become Fanatics’ top-selling NFL jersey during the past two days.
According to ESPN, Fanatics, which is the NFL’s official e-commerce partner, said Nassib has had the top-selling NFL jersey Monday and Tuesday across the company’s network of online stores.
Nassib, a defensive lineman with the Las Vegas Raiders, announced Monday that he is gay. He’s the first active NFL player in league history to make such an announcement.
A spokesperson for Fanatics said the company does not release specifics about sales figures.
Nassib, who is entering his sixth NFL season and second with the Raiders, announced the news on Instagram, saying he wasn’t doing it for the attention but because he felt representation and visibility were important.
“I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in his video message from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.”
Nassib added in a written message that followed the video that he “agonized over this moment for the last 15 years” and only recently decided to go public with his sexuality after receiving the support of family and friends.
“I am also incredibly thankful for the NFL, my coaches, and fellow players for their support,” Nassib wrote. “I would not have been able to do this without them. From the jump I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance.”
Nassib, whose announcement came during Pride Month, added that he was donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that seeks to prevent suicides among LGBTQ youth.
Former University of Missouri defensive star Michael Sam was the first openly gay football player selected in the NFL draft, going in the seventh round to the then-St. Louis Rams in 2014. But he never made the final roster and retired in 2015 having never played in an NFL regular-season game.
Nassib is a sixth-year pro who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2016 in the third round (65th overall) from Penn State. He played two seasons for the Browns and two for Tampa Bay before joining the Raiders in 2020. He has 20 ½ sacks in 73 career games.
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