Securing a spot in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame isn’t for everyone. In the class of 2025, a Tennessee Titans wide receiver joins the exclusive club. The 1997 4th round pick was named First-team All-Pro in 2000 and had two Pro Bowl seasons with the Titans.
His NFL career also featured stints on the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and Houston Texans. While he played on both the Jets and Texans in 2011, his career featured the majority of his accomplishments while in Tennessee.
Derrick Mason Joins the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025
From 1997-2004, Mason was a prominent wide receiver on the team. The Titans drafted him No. 98 overall, knowing how talented the Michigan State graduate was. He was named Second-team All-Big Ten in 1996 before the NFL accomplishments began to roll in.
Playing under Nick Saban, Mason learned quite a bit about the game. His special teams usage did not go to waste, as his college career ended with 2,384 kick off return yards. He was able to translate that to the NFL where he led the league in punt return yards in 2000.
Congratulations @deemason85 on his induction into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025 today @theTSHF pic.twitter.com/ZIzopZrusN
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) July 19, 2025
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Of the 20 inductees, Mason was the lone Titan to enter this years Hall of Fame class. The only other professional athletes that joined him were Memphis Grizzlies star, Tony Allen, along with Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators.
July 19 was the induction date at the Omni Nashville hotel. Come 2027, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame will be in the new Nissan Stadium.
Mason’s Underrated NFL Career
Back on June 25, Chad Johnson responded to a list of the Top 10 WR’s of the 2000s. Johnson’s name was No. 7, but he said, “Take me off & put Derrick Mason cause people must’ve forgot.”
Take me off & put Derrick Mason cause people must’ve forgot. https://t.co/bsQNVcePCS
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) June 26, 2025
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With five 1,000+ yard seasons from the age of 30-35, White was performing like no other. Even though his career in Tennessee got off to a slow start, he had four straight 1,000+ yard seasons by the end of his time there.
From 2001-09, Mason averaged 1065.1 yards per season. He only had 750 receiving yards in 2006, the lone year in that span he didn’t surpass 1,000. Even though he played in all 16 games, it was a down year for the Michigan native.
What’s even more impressive is the fact that Mason had 1,012 yards in just 14 games back in 2002. Even though the league had a 16 game schedule at the time, Mason reached the mark while missing a pair of games.
Mason finished his NFL career with 66 touchdowns and 12,061 receiving yards. He’s 31st on the all-time list. Only four active players are currently ahead of him: Travis Kelce, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, and Julio Jones. Davante Adams is right on his tail with 11,844 yards.
When he joined the team in 1997, the Titans had back to back 8-8 seasons. Those were the last two years when the team was known as the “Tennessee Oilers”, with a Super Bowl appearance the year after. Immediately after changing their name, the Titans went 13-3.
Ultimately, they fell short in Super Bowl XVIII. The St. Louis Rams took home the Lombardi Trophy, 23-16. Mason was non-existent in the game, totaling just 18 yards on two receptions.
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