Ex-Jets star Bryce Huff reveals why he retired from NFL at 27

Bryce Huff might not be tackling football players anymore, but he’s moved on to tackling an important environmental task. 

After six years in the NFL, the former Jets, Eagles and 49ers pass rusher retired at 27 in March to tackle the issue of fire risk created by lithium-iron batteries. 

According to The Athletic, Huff said the move to retire was a family decision and something he and his older brother, Jordan, had been thinking about for a couple of years. 

“I feel like we’re going to save a lot of lives and protect a lot of companies,” Huff told the outlet this week. 

Huff, now 28, said he and his brother have been building a company, Naberstone, for over two years, and that it’s going well so far. 

Huff, who was a 2024 Super Bowl Champ with the Philadelphia Eagles, said the company has six employees and has already landed one “pretty big” customer. Naberstone is also discussing deals with others, such as the U.S. military, a major waste recycling company and groups in Europe and Asia. 

Huff hopes the company addresses a growing issue. 

“Everything is slowly but surely containing batteries, from our cars to our tools to bikes, you name it,” Huff added. “The biggest risk with batteries is the way they ignite if they were to take on some type of damage or malfunction or short circuit. One cell in the battery combusts… and then it’s just like a chain reaction throughout the battery.” 

Even when Huff and his brother were playing football growing up, he said they were always thinking big picture and were “enthralled with science and entrepreneurship.” 

Until one of his favorite professors was laid off due to budget cuts, Huff studied mechanical engineering at Memphis.  

“Going into the NFL, I couldn’t really put my love for engineering to good use,” Huff said. “But now I feel like since we’re working with engineers on a day-to-day basis, it’s just as good as being an engineer myself.” 

Following four years at Memphis, Huff joined the Jets in 2020 as an undrafted free agent and had 17.5 sacks in four seasons. 

His breakout season came in 2023, when he had a career-high 10 sacks under head coach and defensive guru Robert Saleh. 

Huff then signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Eagles in 2024, but struggled to find his footing in Philadelphia with just 2.5 sacks. 

He was then traded to the 49ers in May 2025, where he spent just a season before retiring.