Former Pittsburgh Steelers C Mason Cole played just six seasons in the league, the final two with the Steelers, before hanging up his cleats for good. Appearing on The Chipped Ham & Football podcast with Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cole explained his decision to walk away from the game.
“I loved my time here in Pittsburgh, but after that season, I didn’t have a great season, I wasn’t playing well. It becomes a thing of performance and money, and it wasn’t cutting it. I got released, kind of debated for a few months if I was going to keep playing or not. My heart was kind of out of it; I wasn’t 100%. I had some offers to go play, and I didn’t feel it was right if I wasn’t 100% into it. Just kind of worn out, and just decided to hang it up. I was still healthy, still young, and it felt like it was a good time.”
Cole said he’s now down 75 pounds from his playing weight and recently completed an Ironman event less than two years out from his final season. After a strong 2022 with the Steelers, he struggled and was released after the 2023 season. At the time, it was surprising to see Cole remain unsigned for as long as he was, as he was a two-year starter with the Steelers and had also logged 49 starts in 60 games with the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals prior to his Steelers’ tenure.
But it wasn’t for a lack of opportunity. Football can be a mental and physical grind, and with his heart not in the game, Cole was able to walk away after six years. All the offseason work and the lead up to the season with OTAs, training camp and the preseason leading up to a 17-game regular season. For Cole, it was understandably not worth going through if he wasn’t fully committed.
Although it’s somewhat surprising to see a player retire after just six seasons, despite having other opportunities, we’ve seen an increasing number of players walking away from the game while they’re still relatively young. Cole was able to retire while still healthy and not going through more of the physical toll that football takes on the body. With a young family, Cole can enjoy the rest of his life doing something else he loves while knowing he was able to accomplish something incredibly rare by playing and maintaining a career in the NFL.
You can watch the full interview with Cole below.
