A retired star's new battlefield
When Bryce Huff walked away from the NFL at 27, he left behind a glittering contract and a future on the field for a far different kind of arena. The former 49ers pass rusher had already earned a reputation for relentless pressure on quarterbacks, but a personal pivot led him to examine a hidden danger that was quietly escalating across the modern world: lithium‑ion battery fires.
Together with his brother Jordan, Huff has spent the last two and a half years building Naberstone, a startup that promises to tame that menace. The company’s core mission is simple yet ambitious: create an environmentally friendly extinguishing agent that can quickly douse battery fires without the collateral damage of water or toxic runoff.
From the gridiron to the laboratory
Huff’s transition was not a sudden leap but a calculated move. After studying mechanical engineering at the University of Memphis, he chose football over academia when a professor was laid off, a decision that eventually led to stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and a trade to the San Francisco 49ers in June 2025. On the field he tied for the team lead with four sacks, but off it he began to see the same engineering principles at work in battery technology.
Battery fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish. Water can spread the flames and release hazardous gases, a reality that has alarmed manufacturers of everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. Naberstone’s solution, developed in partnership with an international manufacturer, aims to break that cycle by delivering a fast‑acting, non‑toxic suppressant that can be deployed at scale.
A growing list of partners
The startup, which currently employs six people, has already secured its first major customer and is in advanced discussions with the U.S. military, a leading waste‑recycling company, and groups across Europe and Asia. Executives say the technology could become a standard safety component for electric‑vehicle manufacturers, a sector that is racing to meet soaring demand while grappling with the same fire risks that threatened early adopters.
Huff emphasizes that the venture is as much about protecting lives as it is about safeguarding the bottom lines of the companies that depend on batteries. "The growing use of batteries in every device we own creates a significant fire risk," he says, "and we have a responsibility to address it before it becomes a crisis."
Looking ahead
With the 49ers poised for a Super Bowl run and his family’s backing — despite a less enthusiastic reaction from his mother — Huff is now focused on sealing deals with major electric‑vehicle makers and expanding Naberstone’s reach beyond U.S. borders. The company’s roadmap includes scaling production, refining its proprietary formula, and embedding its technology into the safety protocols of its partners.