Mason Crosby had been inside the Lambeau Field media auditorium a few times throughout the course of his 16-year career as the Packers’ kicker.
He previously stood at the dais to recount game-winning field goals, reflect on monumental career achievements and occasionally address the media during a global pandemic.
But this particular news conference on this particular Friday had a very different feel from the rest – and not because Green Bay’s all-time leading scorer was formally announcing his retirement from the NFL.
It was because this time the occupants of the first two rows weren’t the media but rather his wife, Molly, the couple’s five children, his parents, Jim and Karen, and siblings, Ashley and Rees.
All of whom had a pivotal role in Crosby producing 1,918 points in a Packers uniform while playing in a franchise record 258 consecutive regular-season games from 2007-22.
“What an amazing situation where I could talk about being the Packers’ all-time leading scorer,” Crosby said. “I got to play in all these games. I got to experience all these moments. I won a Super Bowl with this organization.
“This is Titletown. For me, a kid growing up in Georgetown, Texas, and being drafted to this place 18 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined what this moment would feel like.”
Crosby’s leap of faith began when he was drafted by the Packers in the sixth round in 2007. The small-town Texas native didn’t know where Green Bay was at first, but luckily Rees – a lifelong Packers fan – pointed it out for him.
Soon, a city that started as a geographical word search quickly became home for Mason and Molly. It’s the place all five of their children were born, all delivered by the same doctor.
Together, the couple spearheaded numerous charitable causes in Green Bay and the surrounding communities. It’s also where Molly would beat her bout with cancer.
It was the place Crosby developed lifelong friendships and achieved unparalleled success, including a Super Bowl XLV championship. It’s also where Crosby’s football career reached a fork in the road when he converted just 21 of 33 field goals (63.6%) in 2012.
At the tail end of a nightmare season in which Crosby feared he may get cut, it was a conversation with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson that shifted the kicker’s focus.
“Charles Woodson came up to me late in the year and was like, ‘Dude, are you trying to make kicks?'” Crosby said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah?’ He’s like, ‘Stop it. Don’t try to make the kick – just be you. Do your job. Do the process.’
“It was such a simple thing that kind of got me out of the slump. That was the moment and then I finished the year making some kicks.”
And that he did. Crosby bounced back with an 89.2% conversion rate on his field goals the next season and got his career back on track.
Despite kicking in one of the NFL’s most challenging environments, Crosby shattered one team record after another. By the time it was over, Crosby finished as the Packers’ all-time leader in field goals (395), 50-yard field goals (43) and extra points (733).
He kicked the eight longest field goals in franchise history and became the first kicker in Packers history to not miss a field goal during a full season when he connected on all 16 attempts in 2020.
All told, nobody in the NFL scored more points than Crosby’s 1,939 between his time with the Packers and his final season with the New York Giants in 2023.
Crosby acknowledged the pivotal part future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers played in that achievement while also praising Green Bay’s doctors and training staff for helping keep him on the field for 258 games, the fourth-longest consecutive games played streak in NFL history
ld for 258 games, the fourth-longest consecutive games played streak in NFL history.
“There were times, honestly, where I couldn’t get out of bed,” Crosby said. “My hip is so locked up, my knee hurts so bad and I’d call and the trainers would help me or our support here in town would come to the house and get me going. I just was headstrong. I just fought through it.”
During his introduction, Crosby credited the late Ted Thompson and former Packers coach Mike McCarthy for sticking with him through the highs and the lows.
He also thanked President/CEO Mark Murphy, Head Coach Matt LaFleur and General Manager Brian Gutekunst for everything they did for him and his family before taking questions from the media…and a few from his own children.
Perhaps the most salient was this question from his daughter Felicity: “Why did you want to be a kicker.”
“Gosh, you’re asking me all the tough questions. You never ask me these things at home,” said Crosby with a laugh. “It’s like why I love golf. You can’t ever perfect it. It’s like you’re always chasing those moments of, ‘Man, I did that just right.’ You’re always chasing and there’s always a challenge that lies ahead.
“No day on the football field for me was ever the same – the wind was different, the field conditions were different, snap, hold, all the elements.”
Crosby admits it took a minute to find his post-football passion but has found it as an “Uber” driver for the kids, a football coach to his son Nolan and now as a radio show host in Milwaukee.
As he closes the book on a prolific NFL career, Crosby relishes the fact his story was written almost entirely in Green Bay…with his family cheering him on every step of the way.
“I am a culture, team, relationship guy and that’s why Green Bay was perfect for me,” he said. “I chose to stay here over and over again. I never went to free agency until my last year. I chose this place as it chose me, and God’s plan was set in place a long time ago that this is where I was supposed to be and I’m thankful for that every day.”