Canadian defensive lineman Mason Bennett has announced his retirement from professional football.
The 27-year-old was a first-round pick in the 2020 CFL Draft out of the University of North Dakota to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He played 34 career regular-season games with the team and recorded 44 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles, and eight sacks.
The six-foot-four, 262-pound defender made 128 total tackles, 20 sacks, three pass knockdowns, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble over four collegiate seasons with the Fighting Hawks. He was a college teammate of multiple CFL players, including Brady Oliveira, Evan Holm, Tyron Vrede, and Donny Ventrelli.
“21 years of playing this game or 77.7 percent of my life. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without mom. My mom signed me up to play tackle football at five and little did she know it would be the identity, passion, and foundation for my life. The financial sacrifice you made to get me equipment, feed my growing body, pay to send me all over North America, and travel to damn near every high school, college, and professional game will never go unappreciated,” wrote the native of Winnipeg, Man. in a statement.
“I wish I could tell every teammate, trainer, athletic trainer, coach, mentor, friend, and family member the impact they made on my career and life. I always knew one day you have to hang up the cleats and l’ve finally come to peace with the decision. I want to thank everyone from the University of North Dakota for giving me the opportunity to play Division I football and earn my degree and everyone from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to fulfill my childhood dream of playing professional football.
“The amount of teammates who I went to hell and back with will never be forgotten. The crazy locker rooms after big wins, the 6 a.m. talks about how much our bodies hurt, and plane rides at 3 a.m. across the country after a big win will always be my best memories of the game. Although football isn’t my identity anymore, I look forward to the next challenges in life, and best believe I’m going to attack them like every practice, workout, tryout, and game.”
Editor’s note: Bennett’s statement was lightly edited for clarity.
