Copyright New York Post
Rob Gronkowski will officially end his prolific NFL career in the place where it all began. On Sunday, the legendary tight end revealed he’s going to sign a one-day contract with the Patriots to retire with the team that drafted him — three years after he formally hung up his cleats. “I am signing a one-day contract with the Patriots this week coming up to retire as a Patriot and be a Patriot for life, just like all of you out here,” Gronkowski said on “Fox NFL Sunday,” where he currently serves as an analyst. The 42nd overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Gronkowski spent the first nine years of his assuredly Hall of Fame career in New England, where he won three Super Bowls alongside friend and Fox Sports colleague Tom Brady. Although Gronkowski, 36, initially called it a career after the 2018 season, he came out of retirement in 2020, when the Patriots traded him to Tampa Bay to link up with Brady once again on the Buccaneers. Brady and Gronkowski would go on to win the final Super Bowl of their careers in their first season in Tampa: a 31-9 blowout victory over the Chiefs in February 2021. Gronkowski retired again after the 2022 season, with Brady following suit in February 2023. A five-time Pro Bowler and four-time First-Team All-Pro, Gronkowski holds the Patriots’ record for most receiving touchdowns (79), and was the NFL’s receiving touchdowns leader in 2011 with 17. He hauled in 92 touchdown passes across 143 regular-season games between the Patriots and Buccaneers. The Patriots announced Monday that Gronkowski will sign his one-day contract on Wednesday afternoon — one day before the team hosts the Jets on “Thursday Night Football.” New England improved to 8-2 on Sunday with a win over Tampa Bay in coach Mike Vrabel’s first season at the helm.
