As first reported by Jordan Shultz on Tuesday afternoon, five time Pro Bowler and multiple Super Bowl Champion tight end Rob Gronkowski is retiring from the NFL after 11 seasons.
Gronkowski, drafted out the University of Arizona, played his first nine seasons under Bill Belichek in New England where he led the league with 17 touchdown catches in 2011. In Foxborough, he went over 1,000 yards receiving four times and had five seasons of double digit TD receptions. He continued his final two years in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers along side Tom Brady, where he caught two touchdown passes in a 31-9 Super Bowl LV win over the Kansas City Chiefs to cap off the 2020 season. In what turned out to his final run in 2021, he caught 55 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns. The 6 foot 6, 265 pound Gronkowski likely will become a Hall of Famer sometime soon finishing his career with 621 receptions for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns in 143 games. He finishes with four Super Bowl Titles (Patriots-2015, 2017, 2019 and Buccaneers-2020).
Here is the statement made by Gronkowski on his Instagram:
So I wrote that I wanted to play in Tampa for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for many reasons, the sunny weather being #1. I completely forgot about writing this report until 2 years ago when I had the opportunity to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And let me tell ya, the journey in Tampa over the last 2 years has blown away what I originally wrote about in college, big time. And for this, I want to thank the whole entire first class Buccaneers organization for an amazing ride, trusting me to come back to play and help build a championship team. I will now be going back into my retirement home, walking away from football again with my head held high knowing I gave it everything I had, good or bad, every time I stepped out on the field. The friendships and relationships I have made will last forever, and I appreciate every single one of my teammates and coaches for giving everything they had as well. From retirement, back to football and winning another championship and now back to chilling out, thank you to all. Buccaneers fans, the Krewe, without you guys, none of this is possible, all of ya brought it every game, thank you for all you do. Cheers to what’s next, maybe sailing the seas.”
Brady also offered a statement on the news via his social media pages:
“Teammate, friend, brother, just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of Gronk. Nobody has ever embodied the idea of ‘leaving it all out on the field’ like Rob has throughout his entire career. Every single snap, I knew that no matter how many people you put in front of him, he was going to get to his spot. Even more important is the person he was off the field. Focused when he had to be, and FUN the rest of the time. Having Gronk in your locker room was every NFL players dream. I’m proud of all that we’ve accomplished together, and even more excited for all you have ahead of you. Congrats Gronk, you deserve it”.
