Rob Gronkowski Announces his Retirement from NFL
On Monday March 25th, 2019, tight end, Rob Gronkowski, announced his retirement from the New England Patriots and the National Football League. Gronkowski had previously commented about retiring at the end of last season as his team had just won another Super Bowl, but he and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, have officially made the public announcement. The star player is still a very young man even in terms of professional football as he is only 29 years old. This leads to the question…
…will he come out of retirement and choose to play football once again in the future? Rosenhaus certainly eluded to that just as this news broke.
Agent’s Statement:
This is what Rosenhaus exclaimed to ESPN, “Rob is 29 years old. He’s still a very young man. It wouldn’t shock me if he has a change of heart, if he feels great and he decides that he wants to play football, but this is just me talking. This isn’t Rob. And I don’t want to create any unnecessary expectations. Rob is a very unique personality. If the team was struggling or they needed him at some point next year, and let’s just say hypothetically Tom Brady gave him a call and said ‘Rob, I need you,’ I wouldn’t be shocked if he came back to play a few games.”
Rosenhaus said that he brought up the possibility when the two talked on Sunday. “Rob Gronkowski is retired and it’s unlikely that he will ever play football again,” Rosenhaus said. “However, I did close my conversation with Rob yesterday when he called to tell me he was going to retire, and I said, ‘Rob, just keep in mind that if you ever have a change of heart, you can come back and play. I’m sure the Patriots would welcome you with open arms. If it’s sometime during the season. If it’s late in the year. If you feel good and want to come back and play, we’ll make it happen.”
His NFL Career:
Even if you are not an avid sports fan, there is a good chance you may have heard of or seen Gronkowski (usually with his shirt off). He is known for his exuberant behavior whether he is on the field, celebrating, partying, or in front of the camera for one reason or another as he can be quite the character. His wild and crazy personality has been well documented over the years.
Throughout his NFL playing career as a tight end for the incredibly successful New England Patriots he has certainly left his mark on the game of football. The recent retiree is a 3-time Super Bowl champion (XLIX, LI, LIII). He was named to the Pro Bowl 5 times (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017). He made the NFL’s First Team All-Pro 4 times (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017). He led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2011 as well.
In Gronk’s 9-year NFL career, he was able to put up some astonishing statistics such as pulling in 521 receptions. He racked up 7,860 receiving yards along with 79 touchdowns. His postseason numbers are equally impressive as he has 12 playoff touchdown receptions off of a total 81 postseason receptions and 1,163 receiving yards. Gronkowski holds a variety of playoff records too. He has the most catches and the most receiving yards by a tight end in the Super Bowl as he significantly helped Tom Brady and the NE Patriots win several Super Bowls.