Former First-Round Pick Mason Bennett Retires at 27
Deciding to retire is never an easy decision for any player to make, but one former CFL player has come to that conclusion.
On Monday, former Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive end Mason Bennett took to Instagram to release a statement announcing his retirement at age 27.
"21 years of playing this game or 77.7% of my life. Wouldn’t of been able to do any of this without mom, my mom signed me up to play tackle football at 5, little did she know it would be my identity, passion and foundation for my life."
"I wish I could tell every teammate, trainer, athletic trainer, coach, mentor, friends/ family the impact they made on my career and life. I always knew one day you have to hang up the cleats and I’ve finally came to peace with the decision."
"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. 'Arena may look different now, but same mentality…Conquer'"
Bennett was selected by the Tiger-Cats in the first round of the 2020 CFL Draft out of the University of North Dakota. The native of Winnipeg played three seasons in Hamilton, accumulating 49 tackles and eight sacks in 34 games. He last played in the CFL in 2023.
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