Bailey Gaither (born January 11, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He played college football at

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

College career

After graduating high school, Gaither enrolled at

, where in his first year he redshirted. After being a redshirt throughout the 2015 season, Gaither started one game in 2016, making 4 receptions for 43 yards and 1 touchdown. He also returned 7 kickoffs for 128 yards. In the 2017 season, Gaither started 4 of 9 games. He recorded 22 catches for 320 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also returned 13 kicks for 256 yards and blocked a punt. In the 2018 season, Gaither started 3 of 4 games. His season was cut short by a torn ACL. He caught 16 for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had 3 kick returns for 50 yards and had 1 punt return for 9 yards. Gaither had his best college season in 2019. He started all 12 games and caught 52 passes for 812 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also recorded 1 punt return for 10 yards and had a blocked punt that was featured on ESPN Sports Center's top "Plays of the Day" (10/26). At the end of the year he earned an Honorable Mention for all-Mountain West. In his final college season, Gaither earned a First-team All-Mountain West and his bachelor's degree in communication studies. He started 7 of 7 games in which he caught 41 receptions for 725 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had 5 punt returns for 37 yards.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers and initial retirement

Gaither signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

shortly after the conclusion of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

. On August 3, 2021 he retired and was placed on reserve/retired list. On August 20, 2021, he was waived from the retired list.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Gaither came out of retirement and was selected in the 14th round of the

2022 USFL Draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...

by the Pittsburgh Maulers, which reunited him with his former college teammate,

Josh Love Joshua Michael Love (born September 12, 1996) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football for San Jose State. He also played for the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers of the National Football Lea ...

. Gaither was transferred to the team's inactive roster on May 6, 2022, with an illness. He was moved back to the active roster on May 14.

Baltimore Ravens

On July 27, 2022, Gaither signed with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

. He was waived on August 23.

New York Giants

On August 24, 2022, Gaither was claimed off waivers by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. He was waived the next day after failing his physical.

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On October 5, 2022, Gaither re-signed with the

, joining their practice squad, but was released five days later.

Pittsburgh Maulers (second stint)

Gaither re-signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers on January 24, 2023.