While he hasn’t given his employers an official notice, 35-year-old Baltimore Ravens receiver Derrick Mason says he’s going to retire after 12 seasons in the National Football League.
Mason’s retirement is still unofficial, Ravens senior vice president of public and community relations Kevin Byrne told BaltimoreRavens.com, saying that Mason has yet to file the necessary paperwork with the NFL.
This comes as somewhat of a surprise, especially because Derrick’s decision was based more on (lack of) desire than any kind of contractual squabble.
Derrick’s agent, C. Lamont Smith, released the following statement today:
“On Friday July 10, I received a call from my client Derrick Mason and he advised me that after careful and deep thought he had made a decision to retire from professional football. He indicated that he did not want me to continue to seek a contract extension from the Baltimore Ravens and that his decision had little if anything to do with Baltimore’s refusal to grant him an extension. He stated that emotionally and physically he did not feel up to the enormous demands that professional football requires to compete at the level that he is accustomed to competing. He asked me to delay the announcement of this decision out of respect for his former teammate Steve McNair, so we obviously complied with his request. After speaking with Derrick, I telephoned Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens’ general manager and advised him of Derrick’s decision. Given that Derrick just reached this decision on Friday, he has not as of yet filed official papers with the league offices. We expect that he will do this when he gets around to it. Derrick has indicated that he does not wish to do interviews at this time and respectfully requests that the media refrain from making such requests of him for the next two weeks.”
However,The Baltimore Ravens have refused to confirm a story that receiver Derrick Mason has decided to retire.
“For any player to retire, he has to send a letter to the NFL stating this,” Ravens spokesman Kevin Byrne said in a statement. “Derrick Mason has not done that.”
A 13-year veteran of the NFL, Mason played much of the 2008 season with a painful shoulder injury, one that required offseason surgery, and was still struggling to recover during Baltimore’s workouts in early June. At the time, Mason indicated that he may not be ready for the start of training camp.
Mason was a speaker at the memorial service for his friend Steve McNair last week.
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