Cal Sports Report

Former Cal Star Alex Mack Announces His Retirement After 13 NFL Seasons

He was named to seven Pro Browls and was selected to the all-decade team of the 2010's

Jake Curtis

In this story:

Former Cal center Alex Mack announced on Friday that he is retiring from pro football after 13 NFL seasons.

The 36-year-old Mack was named to the Pro Bowl seven times, including the 2021 season, which was his only season with the 49ers. In 2020 he was named to the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2010’s. 

Mack got married last month in Ireland.

He made his retirement announcement via social media:

Mack grew up in Los Angeles and played at Cal from 2004 through 2008, redshirting his first year in Berkeley. In both 2007 and 2008 Mack was the winner of the Morris Trophy as the top offensive lineman in the Pac-10 (as voted by Pac-10 defensive linemen). He was selected as a first-team All-American by Rivals.com, a second-team All-American by Walter Camp and the Sporting News and a third-team All-American by the Associated Press.

He was also the recipient of the Draddy Trophy as college football's top scholar-athlete, an award that includes a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.

Mack was a first-round selection (21st overall) by the Cleveland Browns in the 2009 NFL draft.

He played his first seven NFL seasons with the Browns and the next five with the Falcons, helping Atlanta to a Super Bowl berth in the 2016 season.

Mack started a streak of 90 consecutive starts in 2015, with his run lasting until Week 16 of the 2020 season.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch issued a joint statement:

“The center position in the NFL is the heartbeat of an offense and Alex’s intellect, consistency, love for the game and professional approach made a lasting impression over the course of his 13 NFL seasons. Congratulations to Alex on a highly decorated NFL career and we wish him nothing but success in his post-playing career.”

Here is the entirety of Mack’s retirement announcement:

"After 13 years and 204 games for 3 tams, I have decided to hang up my cleats. I am so grateful for the game of football and everything it has given me. From the very start it helped shape who I am and taught me life lessons. I started to play football because it was fun and that never changed.

"Thank you to the fans. You have been with me on an incredible journey across the country. Thank you to Cleveland, Atlanta, and San Francisco; I loved living in these cities and will miss their dedicated fan bases.

"Thank you to all the coaches, who tolerated my stubbornness and taught me as much as they could. I always try to hold up my end of the bargain and never let anyone doubt my effort.

"Thank you to teammates and opponents. We are forever bound by our competition at the highest level and by our full commitment to our craft. I think I’ll miss the O-line rooms the most; always a special collection of men willing to put in the work together, in near anonymity, for the good of the team.

"Thank you to friends and family. The demands of pro football can make a career appear selfish, yet, you supported me in my passion and rode with me for the ups and downs. I couldn’t have done it without you.

This really is more “thank you” than “goodbye.” From draft night to the final whistle, I will carry these special memories, and each of these treasured relationships, with me into my next chapter. All the best, Alex.

.

Cover photo of Alex Mack by Gary A Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports

.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport

Published
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football