October 22, 2025
An increasing number of NFL alums are taking an unexpected career route after their playing days by entering the nursing profession.
D’Brickashaw Ferguson, former New York Jets offensive tackle, and Patrick Hill, former Tennessee Titans fullback and running back, are among an increasing number of retired NFL players who have pursued careers in nursing after leaving professional football.
While many NFL retirees often transition into sports broadcasting, coaching, financial literacy, teaching, real estate, or law enforcement, nursing is emerging as a growing option. Although exact numbers aren’t available, at least five current and former players have publicly shared their choice to pursue nursing during or after their NFL careers.
“Nursing is a newer area,” Tracy Perlman, senior vice president of player operations at the NFL, told The New York Times.
This past spring, Ferguson, 41, earned his nursing degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and now works at RWJBarnabas Health in New Jersey, continuing the family legacy of his mother and grandmother, both nurses. Hill serves as an inpatient psychiatric nurse at UCLA Medical Center and has experience in various intensive care units.
Hill, 37, credits the “mental toughness and resiliency” developed in football for helping him thrive in nursing, a field that mirrors the teamwork and full engagement he experienced on the field.
“Two minutes of CPR is the longest two minutes you’ll probably ever do,” he said, comparing it to the “intense, hyper-focused” mindset players get during the two-minute warning, the automatic timeout at the end of the second and fourth quarters in every NFL game.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, 26, a running back on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad, also comes from a nursing family. Watching his mother care for his younger sister Maddee, who has congenital muscular dystrophy, inspired his interest in the field. He’s now balancing football with school and is on track to earn his bachelor’s degree in nursing next summer.
Chandler Brayboy, 24, a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars, earned his nursing degree last year while playing in the NFL. His interest in healthcare began in high school after a health science class taught him about Parkinson’s disease, prompting him to recognize the “pill-rolling” tremor in his grandfather and help him get diagnosed. Brayboy plans to pursue a career as a critical care nurse after retiring from football.
Brayboy’s focus on critical care reflects a trend highlighted in a 2024 NurseJournal report, which found male nurses are more likely to pursue fast-paced specialties like emergency and critical care that demand adaptability, physical stamina, and quick problem-solving. The number of men in nursing has slowly risen, increasing by 8% over the past decade, helping to challenge long-standing stigmas that have kept men at roughly 13% of registered nurses.
“This is awesome for boys to see,” said Dr. Jason Mott, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Nursing and president of the American Association for Men in Nursing.
Nathaniel Hughes, 40, played wide receiver for four NFL teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions. Frequent hospital visits from football injuries sparked his interest in health care. He earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2008, before being drafted, and completed his master’s in nursing in 2015 while still playing.
After seven years as a nurse, Dr. Hughes attended medical school and is now an anesthesiologist. Even with his medical career, he sometimes struggles to leave his former pro footballer lifestyle behind.
“You know a lot of little nuances that a normal person who just watches football wouldn’t,” Hughes said. “People can pick up real quick on your football I.Q. just by your lingo. So they start looking at you like, ‘Yo, you play ball?’”
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