The New England Patriots drafted Gronkowski during his sophomore year of college in 2010, and he remained with the team until his retirement in 2018. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and set numerous milestones, including the most touchdown receptions by a tight end.
He has been named to the All-Pro team four times and has appeared in the Pro Bowl five times. Gronk re-signed with the Patriots for another six seasons in 2012. At the time, his contract deal, worth $54 million, was the highest ever between a franchise and a tight end in NFL history.
Rob still had a year left on his contract when he announced his retirement, and the Patriots traded him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Gronkowski announced his retirement in April 2020, saying, “Taking a year off was hands down the finest decision I took, not only in my career but also for my health and well-being.”
In addition to football, Rob has appeared in a number of films and television shows, including “Entourage” (2015), “The Clapper” (2017), “Family Guy” (2017), and “The Masked Singer” (2020), as well as the Showtime comedy special “Unsportsmanlike Comedy with Rob Gronkowski,” which he starred in and produced in 2015.
Early Years:
On May 14, 1989, in Amherst, New York, Rob Gronkowski was born Robert James Gronkowski. His mother Diane, father Gordon (a former Syracuse University football player), and brothers Glenn, Dan, Gordie, and Chris, all of whom had played professional football, raised him in Williamsville. Rob’s favorite sport was hockey until he was 14 when he turned to basketball.
He played football (tight end, defensive end, and freshman kickoff specialist) for Williamsville North High School, as well as basketball (center), baseball (first baseman), and basketball (center) for Woodland Hills High School after the family moved to Pennsylvania.
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Gronkowski was awarded an All-Western New York first-teamer, a SuperPrep All-American, and an Associated Press Class 4-A All-State player during his high school career. Rob was pursued by a number of institutions, but after graduating from high school in 2007, he chose to attend the University of Arizona.
A career in College:
Gronk was a Pre-Business major at the University of Arizona, where he also played football for the Arizona Wildcats from 2007 to 2009. As a rookie, he had the top average of 18.8 yards per reception on the team, earning him Rivals.com freshman All-American and “The Sporting News” freshman All-American honors. Rob was selected the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week twice during the 2008 season, as well as a first-team All-Pac-10 tight end and an Associated Press third-team All-American. He had back surgery in 2009 and had to sit out his junior season.
Professional Background:
Gronk was the 42nd overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and he signed a four-year, $4.4 million contract with the New England Patriots, including a $1.76 million signing bonus. The Patriots won the AFC East in Rob’s debut season, and he was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team and received three Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week accolades.
While playing for the Indianapolis Colts in 2011, he set an NFL record for touchdowns scored by a tight end in a single season, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week and NFL.com’s “Hardest Working Man” honors. The Patriots advanced to Super Bowl XLVI, but were defeated by the New York Giants; Gronkowski hurt his ankle in the AFC Championship, and an MRI revealed strained ligaments that necessitated surgery after the Super Bowl.
Rob signed a six-year, $54 million contract extension in June 2012. Later that year, he injured his forearm in a game against the Indianapolis Colts, forcing him to miss multiple games; he broke it again in the team’s first postseason game, necessitating yet another operation. His forearm became infected in February 2013, and he underwent surgery to clear the infection.
A few months later, he underwent another surgery to replace the metal plate that had been inserted during the second surgery. Gronkowski underwent back surgery in June 2013 and returned to the game in October; two months later, he tore the MCL and ACL in his right knee after being hit by Cleveland Browns’ T. J. Ward. Rob was nominated for the Pro Bowl and First Team-All Pro in 2014 after the Patriots won the AFC East for the second time.
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At the 2015 ESPY Awards, his accomplishments during the 2014 season earned him the Comeback Player of the Year title.
The Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX 28-24 over the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. Gronk sustained a hamstring injury, a pulmonary contusion, and back surgery in 2016, and he was on injured reserve in early 2017 when the Patriots won Super Bowl LI 34–28 over the Atlanta Falcons.
Rob was named to the Associated Press All-Pro First Team in January 2018, earning him a $2.5 million bonus on his contract. The Patriots lost 33–41 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII the following month.
The club won Super Bowl LIII, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 13–3, and Gronk set a Super Bowl record for yards and catches by a tight end with 297 yards and 23 catches. Rob announced his retirement from football on March 24, 2019, at the age of 29, however he returned a year later as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
NFL Achievements:
During his time with the Patriots, Gronk made numerous records, including the youngest player to have three touchdown receptions in a game (2010), the first tight end to lead the league in receiving touchdowns (2011), and the most consecutive seasons with 10+ touchdowns by a tight end (2010–2012).
Rob also holds the Super Bowl records for the most receptions by a tight end (23), the most receiving yards by a tight end (297), the most career postseason receiving touchdowns by a tight end (12), the most career postseason receiving yards by a tight end (1,163), and the first tight end with 1,000+ career postseason receiving yards.
Private Life:
In the year 2015, Rob began dating model Camille Kostek. In May 2020, the pair made headlines by donating 1,600 masks to the Foxboro Fire Department to aid first responders during the Coronavirus epidemic. Gronkowski and Kostek appeared in Kygo’s “I’ll Wait” music video in 2020, and Rob has also been in Katy Perry (“Swish Swish”) and 3LAU’s music videos (“On My Mind”).
Net Worth:
Gronkowski, sometimes known as Rob “Gronk,” is an American football player with a net worth of $45 million USD.
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Commercial Real Estate:
Gronk bought a 2,100-square-foot Boston condo for $1.9 million in 2016 and sold it for $2.3 million in 2019. Rob has owned two properties on 1.5 acres in Foxborough, Massachusetts, since 2014. The larger house, a custom-built 5-bedroom residence, is 4,486 square feet, while the smaller house is 4,466 square feet. He paid $1.7 million for a 5-bedroom condo in Miami in 2019.
Endorsements:
Gronk made over $60 million in salary alone during his stint in the NFL. He has made tens of millions of dollars in endorsement deals with businesses like Tide. Rob claimed in his 2015 book “It’s Good To Be Gronk” that he has not spent a penny of his NFL paycheck and instead lives solely on the proceeds of his endorsement deals. Gronkowski has also promoted Nike, Dunkin’ Donuts, Visa, T-Mobile, Lyft, Cheerios, and other brands. In 2012, PLB Sports released Gronk Flakes, which was followed three years later by Gronk’s Hot Sauce, and in 2016, Monster Energy released a trademark “Gronk” taste.
