Former Nebraska wide receiver Alex Bullock abruptly retired from football earlier this month. On its own, that might not be all that surprising. After all, plenty of players see their football careers end once they're done with college. What makes Bullock's retirement more surprising is that he had just signed a rookie deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars a few days before his retirement.
Late last month, Ari Meirov reported Bullock had officially retired from the NFL. The timing came just after the Jags reached a deal worth more than $3 million as an undrafted free agent.
Officially, the Jaguars placed the former Nebraska receiver on the reserve/retired list, a move that keeps Bullock's rights in-house while opening a spot on the 90-man offseason roster. The Jags have not yet detailed why he stepped away, and Bullock has not released a statement explaining his decision either.
The money attached to this exit feels different from most UDFA farewells. Spotrac lists Bullock’s contract at $3.103 million in total value, with only $3,000 guaranteed. That structure is typical for UDFAs, but the total value was still large enough to raise eyebrows. Of course, the fact that Bullock was the third UDFA player to retire just after signing their deals suggests some players decide, after the fact, that they aren't up for putting their bodies through the training and pounding of a football career.
Alex Bullock’s Jaguars exit adds a strange twist to former Nebraska wideout's football career
Bullock certainly had an interesting path to the NFL before deciding to call it a career. Originally an in-state commit for Scott Frost, he saw his most extensive playing time at Nebraska in Matt Rhule's first season in Lincoln. In 2023, Bullock played in all 12 games and caught 15 passes for 221 yards and 1 touchdown, ranking third on the team in receptions.
The former Husker played in all 13 games in 2024 with two starts. He caught one pass for 12 yards in addition to being one of Nebraska's top perimeter blockers. Bullock's lone reception of the year was a 12-yard catch against UTEP. He made his first start of the season at Purdue and also started at Ohio State.
After that season, he transferred to South Dakota State where he exploded. In 2025 he caught 71 passes for 936 yards and 5 touchdowns. That performance, as well as some impressive Pro Day performances got him some attention from the NFL after the draft.
The former Nebraska wideout did get that deal from the Jacksonville Jaguars but instead of attending any minicamps, decided to call it a career.
Add us as a preferred source on Google