The First Eritrean to play in the NFL played his las season in 2018. Nat Berhe who attended the 2018 Eritrean Festival in Washington D.C spoke of the love he received from Eritreans as he got drafted by the NY Giants three years ago. Most everyone knows that Nat’s dad Mr. Berhe Asfaha was a proud Eritrean who came to America many years ago and built a great life for his family.

Eritrean-American Natnael Berhe ended up making history as the first NFL player with Eritrean roots. He played with 2 NFL teams staring out with the New York Giants. A couple of year ago he signed a contract with one of the best and well known American Football franchises the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nat started his career in football at Colton High School in Southern California, where he was a standout player. He then received a full ride to attend San Diego State University. He soon became a great player for the SDSU Aztecs, he was one of the best defensive players in the history of the school. Following College Nat was drafted by the New York Giants where he was a top special teams player sometime playing in the safety role. In New York he had a couple of injuries and some minor concussions where he was able to recover and continue to perform at high levels.

Just like Eritrean-American long distance runner Meb Kiflezghi, Nat decided to utilize the services of his brother as an agent. After racking up 22 tackles for the Giants in his second season, 14 of them coming on special teams, Nat and Tamrat his brother started to see if they could get better offers. Nat has always wanted to play for Coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers came in with an offer. The Steelers already had Darrius Heyward-Bey as a special teams leader, but bringing in Nat Berhe added that second element they needed. Nat played in-front of big audiences and also had a great college career at SDSU where he was 1st team All Mountain conference selection. While he is no longer playing in the NFL since 2018 after a short stint with the Steelers, along with his brother they have embarked on a security detail business that serves to protect famous and important people. What connected Nat Berhe to Eritrea is his father Berhe Asfaha who came to America in early 1970’s where he was a successful businessman and married a great woman and mother to Nat and Tamrat Berhe. Judy Berhe played a big role in making sure the two brothers were raised well. It is to be recalled that Eri-Internationalsports had interviewed Nat as he made his debut in the NFL. Nat announced in early May 2022 that his Eritrean dad Berhe Asfaha passed away. Eri-internationalsports wishes the entire Berhe family condolences and wish Nat, Tamrat and mom Judy the best going forward. Mr. Berhe’s legacy will forever be associated with the Eritrean people. Nat was always proud of putting Eritrea on the map through the NFL.