Rob Gronkowski, a former National Football League tight end, is considering signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the New England Patriots. Gronkowski, who spent nine seasons with the Patriots and finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played alongside Tom Brady to win four Super Bowls and recorded 105 touchdowns with both teams.
During an interview, Gronkowski said, “I like that a lot. The reason why we’re really going to do that is because of Susan Hurley. She wants to see that happen. She’s been dreaming about that happening for a while (…) RKK [Robert Kraft] gave her the thumbs up, so we’re going to make it happen in the future. It’s going to be a special moment. Come back for a day, a weekend, whatever it is. We’ll make it happen.”
Gronkowski earned nearly $72.5 million from playing contracts over his 11-year National Football League career and has made additional income through endorsements and business ventures. Notably, he stated on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast last month: “I’m very frugal (…) I lived with a roommate for the first couple of years, I didn’t know how long the NFL was going to last (…) I was a second round pick, on a four-year, $4m deal. I was like, ‘If I play this contract out, I’ll be set for life. I got $2m in the bank, I could make thousands off the interest.’ If I only played for three, four years, if I didn’t ball, if I wasn’t the player I thought I could be, whatever. I was still set for life (…) I always wanted to save, and I used the money I was earning off the field to just spend on whatever I needed (…) To this day, technically, I have never spent any of my NFL money.”
He also invested in Apple shares in 2014 with an initial amount of $69,000 that reportedly increased by $250,000 within several years. As of 2024, his investment had grown to about $600,000.
In addition to his financial decisions during his playing years and beyond, Gronkowski has transitioned into broadcasting as an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday and Fox NFL Kickoff. Following Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson’s retirement from Fox Sports coverage after three decades with the network, Gronkowski will join Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Michael Strahan on set with host Curt Menefee for the 2025 season.
Tom Brady is set to return as part of Fox’s announcer crew after making his booth debut in 2024 alongside Kevin Burkhardt.
The possibility remains that Rob Gronkowski will officially retire as a New England Patriot at some point in future enshrinements or events honoring players’ legacies.
