Veteran 49ers center Alex Mack announces his NFL retirement

SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- Veteran San Francisco 49ers center Alex Mack announced Friday he was retiring from professional football ending a 13-year career in the NFL.

Mack had helped anchor the 49ers offensive line after signing with San Francisco as a free agent on March 18, 2021.

"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," General Manager John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan in a joint statement.  "Congratulations to Alex on a highly decorated NFL career and we wish him nothing but success in his post-playing career."   

Mack was originally selected out of UC-Berkeley by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

He went on to earn three Associated Press Second-Team All-Pro in 2013, 2016 and 2017. Mack was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection in 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and last season.  

In his only season with the 49ers, he started all 17 regular season games and three postseason contests and was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl. 

"I am so grateful to the game of football and everything it has given me," Mack said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. "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."

Mack thanked the "dedicated fan bases" in San Francisco, Atlanta and Cleveland where he spent his career, the coaches who "tolerated my stubbornness," his teammates, his opponents and his family and friends.

"This is really more a 'thank you' than 'goodbye,'" he said. "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."

The 36-year-old native of Santa Barbara appeared in 46 games in five years at the UC-Berkeley.