Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.

Nassib made the historic announcement via social media in an Instagram post on Monday.

While making NFL history, Nassib also donated $100,000 to the Trevor Project – a leading national organisation providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth.

"What's up people?" Nassib posted. "I'm at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay.

"I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest. I really have the best life, I've got the best family, friends and job a guy could ask for.

"I'm a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I'm really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one day, videos like this and the whole coming-out process are just not necessary.

"But until then, I'm going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that's accepting, that's compassionate and I'm going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project."

Nassib joined the Raiders on a three-year, $25million free-agent deal in 2020.

The 28-year-old had 2.5 sacks and an interception in 14 games – five starts – with the Raiders last season.

Nassib was drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Browns in 2016 before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said: "The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today. Representation matters.

"We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season."