Shaquille Olajuwon Mason (born August 28, 1993) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

who most recently played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

of the

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(NFL). Mason played

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for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 2011 to 2014 and was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the fourth round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

College career

Mason played 11 games as a true freshman in 2011. From 2012 to 2014, he started in 39 of the Yellow Jackets' 41 games, including every game as a junior and senior. Mason was first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013 and 2014 as well as first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 2014.

Professional career

New England Patriots

On May 2, 2015, Mason was selected in the fourth round (131st overall) by the

. Mason appeared in 14 games with 10 starts for the Patriots as a rookie. Mason broke his hand during the 2016 preseason and did not start in the season opener against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

but split time at right guard with rookie Ted Karras. Since then, he started every game at right guard for the Patriots. On February 5, 2017, Mason was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

by a score of 34–28 in overtime. In 2017, Mason started all 16 games at right guard for the Patriots. He started in

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, but gave up the strip sack that ultimately proved to be the biggest play of the game. The Patriots lost 41–33 to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. On August 27, 2018, Mason signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Patriots. He started 14 games at right guard in 2018, missing two with a calf injury. He was given a grade of 82.1 by Pro Football Focus in the regular season, the highest grade of any guard in the league. Mason played every offensive snap in Super Bowl LIII and the Patriots defeated the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

13–3. Mason was placed on the reserve/

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list by the Patriots on October 17, 2020, and activated on October 21.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 15, 2022, Mason was traded to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2022 NFL draft. The trade reunited him with star quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

Houston Texans

On March 20, 2023, the Buccaneers traded Mason and a 2023 seventh-round pick to the

in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

. He signed a three-year, $36 million contract extension on May 10. In 2024, Mason started 15 games and was tied with Alex Cappa for the league-lead in sacks allowed by a guard (8). On March 7, 2025, it was announced the Texans will release Mason.

References

External links

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Shaq 1993 births Living people American football offensive guards American football centers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen New England Patriots players Sportspeople from Columbia, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee Tampa Bay Buccaneers players