Exeter-born Matt Bye came through the youth team and appeared once for the first-team as a substitute in 2006. Continuing to live in Exeter he had a long non-league career notably with Bideford.

Matt was a hard working midfielder with the club's youth and reserve teams and captained City against Newcastle in the FA Youth Cup in December 2006. Matt then received a fleeting taste of first-team action when he was introduced as a substitute in the final match of the season against Scarborough in April 2006. This was to be his only first-team outing in a league fixture.

Released at the end of the 2006/07 season, Matt then linked up with Truro City before later moving to Royal Racing FC Montegnee in Belgium. He then signed for Tiverton Town in August 2009 and also played for Ottery St Mary and Clyst Rovers before joining Bideford in July 2010.

Matt played for Bideford until 2018, either side of a spell with Tiverton Town in 2014/15, as the North Devon club rose as far as the Southern League Premier Division with Matt often captaining the team and making nearly three hundred appearances. 

Matt signed for Helston Athletic of the SW Peninsula League in 2018 and was a key member of the side that was promoted to the Western League in 2021 and won both the Cornwall Senior and Western League cup competitions in 2023. He returned to Bideford in June 2023 prior to switching to North Devon rivals Barnstaple Town in November 2023.