Louis Rees-Zammit admits he was 'fed up' in NFL following return to rugby union to join Bristol Bears - 'I was wasting my talent'
Updated 19/08/2025 at 21:11 GMT+1
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Louis Rees-Zammit returned to rugby union after he felt he was "wasting his talent" in the National Football League (NFL). The 24-year-old quit rugby in 2024 in an attempt to establish a career in the NFL, but 18 months on, he has announced his return after failing to play a competitive match. The Welshman admitted he was "fed up" with the lack of opportunities but has "no regrets" over the move.
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Louis Rees-Zammit has admitted he was "wasting his talent" in America's National Football League (NFL) following his return to rugby union.
The 24-year-old winger shocked the world of rugby in 2024 when he announced on the eve of the Six Nations that he was quitting the sport in a bid to forge a career in the NFL.
The Wales international spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars, featuring in several pre-season matches, but did not play a competitive NFL fixture.
Having become "fed up" with the lack of opportunities, Rees-Zammit announced his return at the start of August 2025 and has joined Gallagher Premiership Rugby side Bristol Bears on a season-long contract.
"I just felt like I was kind of wasting my talent out there, to be honest with you," he said in an interview with the Express.
"I gave it my best shot but it's very difficult to get into the NFL if you haven't gone through the college system. You just don't get the same opportunities as those boys.
"It makes sense from a coach's point of view, because those boys have been playing that sport for so long and it's hard to coach someone up on the sport they've never played before.
"I was getting minimal reps and it just was something that I was fed up with when I was practising there."
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Louis Rees-Zammit
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Despite his experience in America not going as hoped, Rees-Zammit has "no regrets" over his decision to quit rugby.
"Just to be involved in a locker room that was completely different to rugby, next to global figures like [Patrick] Mahomes and [Travis] Kelce, I learned from everything they did day-to-day.
"But I'm real about it - it probably wasn't for me in the end. There are no regrets. I'm very happy that I made the decision because would I regret it if I never did it? That's the biggest regret.
"I've gone out, did it, played a year, and made a decision to come back and really express my game again.
"It was a gradual thing, but when I went back for year two, I kept thinking about what would happen if I came back to rugby."
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When Bristol kick off their season with a Premiership Rugby Cup match at Sale Sharks next month, Rees-Zammit will not have played a competitive rugby fixture in 20 months.
However, the former British and Irish Lion is not concerned about any kind of technical rustiness, but instead, whether he will be up to speed physically.
"The skill isn't really the issue. It's just about being match fit," he said. "There's a lot more conditioning in rugby - in NFL it's more anaerobic fitness, being able to do repeated sprints, not so much long-distance stuff because the [time of the] ball in play here is very high."
Following their season opener at Sale, Bristol head to Rees-Zammit’s former club Gloucester for another cup clash, before hosting Leicester Tigers to kick off their Premiership campaign.
Watch and stream the Gallagher Premiership and Premiership Women's Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+
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