Patriots Tight End, Rob Gronkowski, Retires From Football

Patriots Tight End, Rob Gronkowski, Retires From Football

March 27, 2019 Off By Jordan Stoopler

Last Sunday night, just before 6:00 pm, as families prepared to sit down for dinner, and as millions of sports fans were biting their fingernails watching top-seed Duke play a tight second-round match against UCF which the favourites would go on to narrowly win, Patriots tight-end Rob Gronkowski decided it was time to make a major announcement.

Normally, such an announcement, given the time of posting and number of distractions outlined above, might be buried and pass under the radar. Not when you are a player of the caliber and personality of Gronkowski.

The news came only slightly as a surprise, despite Gronkowski being just 29 years-old. This is on the younger side for a pro athlete to retire, even by NFL standards, where players are known to hang up their shoulder pads earlier than other professional sports, on average. His injury history and just weeks after winning his third Super Bowl also must have come into play. Gronkowski has also previously been subject to retirement rumours, as recently as last year when he skipped mini-camp.

However, it can be argued that “Gronk”, as he is known around football and public circles, has little left to prove in a 9-year career that will surely lead him one day to Canton, Ohio. His resume reads like that of a Hall-of-Famer: 3 Super Bowls rings in five career appearances to the final game, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, 4-time First-Team All-Pro, and 16 NFL records.

His 79 receiving touchdowns in his career is the third-most by any player in NFL history before hitting age 30. His 80 career touchdowns (one of which was deemed a rushing score) is the most in New England Patriots franchise history, 12 ahead of Stanley Morgan.

In addition, Gronkowski is third all-time in receiving touchdowns by a tight-end in league history (behind Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates), and the leader for post-season receiving touchdowns (12), receptions (81) and receiving yards (1,163) by a tight-end in NFL playoff history. He had 521 receptions and 7,861 receiving yards in the regular season.

The Patriots’ second-round pick (42nd overall) out of Arizona in 2010, the six-foot-six Gronkowski wasted little time in leaving his initial imprint on the game. He made the team that same year, playing in all 16 regular-season games scoring 10 touchdowns on 42 carries and 546 total yards. What made his quick jump into the Patriots regular lineup all the more impressive was the fact that Gronkowski missed the entire 2009 college season as he recovered from back surgery. One particular game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10 of Gronkowski’s rookie campaign turned eyebrows across the football world.

Gronkowski would go on to improve upon his rookie season in 2011, scoring a personal season-high 17 touchdowns on 90 receptions for 1,327 yards. His 17 scores and total yardage were the most ever by a tight-end in NFL history for a single season.

Despite a strong opening playoff performance against the Denver Broncos, which saw the Patriots’ #87 tie an NFL post-season record with three touchdown catches, Gronkowski suffered a high ankle-sprain in the subsequent AFC championship win over the Baltimore Ravens. This would hinder Gronkowski in the Super Bowl, eventually lost by New England to the New York Giants. It was discovered following the big game that Gronkowski had strained ligaments and would need surgery to repair it. It would be the first of many injuries that would attempt to derail Gronk’s career.

His injury history reads like a long shopping list:

  • Broken left forearm in 2012, which he re-fractured in January of 2013, requiring three additional surgeries
  • Back vertebral fracture in May of 2013, also necessitating surgery
  • A concussion (Grade 1), torn ACL and MCL (Grade 3) suffered on December 8, 2013.
  • Knee strain (Grade 1) in November 2015
  • Hamstring pull (Grade 1) in August 2016
  • Chest Lung Bruise November 2016
  • Back Vertebral Disc Hernia also in November 2016, requiring surgery
  • Leg Thigh Bruise October 2017
  • Grade 1 Concussion January 2018
  • Back and ankle issues October 2018

His retirement has reverberated throughout the Patriots organization and the entire football world, as evidenced by the following tweets:

As for where Gronkowski goes from here at the young age of 29, there appear to be plenty of opportunities and ventures for him across multiple areas.

For one, Gronkowski is the part-owner of a racehorse that bears his name. The thoroughbred finished second at last year’s Belmont Stakes.

He has an endless amount of endorsement deals , including Nike, Dunkin’ Donuts, Tide, Visa, T-Mobile, Draftkings, and Cheerios, among others.

An acting career or WWE involvement of some sorts has also been bandied about as the next step for Gronk. He has played himself in the Entourage movie, released in 2015, and voiced himself on a 2017 episode of Family Guy. He was featured, along with his famous brothers, on an episode of Celebrity Family Feud. He also appeared in two feature films in 2017. As for wrestling, Gronkowski has openly divulged he is a fan, even appearing in Wrestlemania 33.

During an appearance on the Tonight Show in the days immediately following this year’s Super Bowl win, Gronkowski side-stepped the question posed by host Jimmy Fallon as to whether or not he could soon be appearing on the big screen.

Gronkowski may also pursue some business ventures as well. He also produced and hosted a Verizon original show entitled MVP where entrepreneurs pitch their products or services to top athletes who offer their opinions. The show lasted 36 episodes across two seasons. Gronk also appeared on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank, along with his brothers, in search of a business deal for his brother Chris’ Ice Shaker. They ultimately brokered a deal with businessman and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and baseball legend Alex Rodriguez.

Gronkowski also has developed his own product, in collaboration with Brookstone. The Gronk Ball, a portable wireless football speaker, has been a hot seller at the store across the country.

Gronkowski has set up the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation, with the goal of ensuring children stay active in school and sports and live all-around happy lives. Grants are given to sports programs with a particular focus on health and fitness.

Gronk has a lot of potential projects to keep him busy with. Although, nothing has been set in stone as to what his long-term future may hold. In the immediate future, Gronkowski will be taping an episode of the ABC game show The $100,000 Pyramid on April 11 in New York City. He will appear alongside former teammate Julian Edelman. The episode is scheduled to air sometime this summer.

Until that airs and Gronk makes his next steps known, fans will have highlights of his illustrious career to re-live.

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CategoryNFL
TagsGronkowski New England New England Patrioits NFL Patriots tight-end