TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end and future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement, again, from the NFL in an Instagram post.
He was a key player in the Tampa Bay team that won Super LV, alongside longtime pal Tom Brady.
Gronkowski has made memorable moments both on and off the field. Here are 10 fun facts you might have not known about the four-time Super Bowl champion.
WWE 🤼
The former NFL tight end had a brief stint in the WWE world in 2020 and was the longest-reigning 24/7 champion in WWE history.
He won the 24/7 Championship at WrestleMania 36 in April 2020 as he pinned down Dean Muhtadi, also known as Mojo Rawley in WWE, to claim the title. However, he later lost the belt to R-Truth two months later.
He was under contract that same year, but he exercised a release clause so he could return to the NFL and play with the Bucs.
New York Times best-selling author 📕
Yes, you read that correctly. Gronkowski is a New York Times best-selling author for his memoir "It's Good to be Gronk."
In his book, he talks about his refusal to use the money he earns from professional football contracts and instead lives his life based on his endorsement deals from Tide laundry detergent, Nike and many more.
He also mentioned how excited he was to meet Brady, just like how anyone else would be if they encountered the G.O.A.T.
"Gronk Spike" 🏈
You've seen it, professional football players have seen it and everyone loves it when the former Bucs tight end slams the ball to the ground every time he scores a touchdown.
That celebration led to Gronkowski coining the term "Gronk Spike," and many other tight ends in the league replicated the spike when they score.
And even cooler, Gronkowski's unique celebration made the cover of the video game, Madden NFL 17.
Re-retiring 2️
This is not the first time the four-time Super Bowl champion has announced his retirement from the NFL.
He initially called it quits in 2019 after spending nine seasons and winning three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots. During his time in Boston, he broke records and was one of the league's best tight ends.
However, he came back to play football in 2020 when he signed with Tampa Bay and won Super Bowl LV in his first season.
Bucs fans will be hopeful for Gronkowski to pull a Brady-esque retirement fashion and say he will be coming back to the franchise after hanging up his cleats.
Family full of athletes 🏃♂️
Although he may be the biggest known athlete in his family, the Gronkowski household is filled with athletes who have played on the professional and collegiate levels.
The former Patriot has four brothers, Gordie Jr., Dan, Chris and Glenn.
Gordie Jr. was the only sibling who pursued the professional baseball route, while the rest of the siblings played in the NFL.
Gronkowski's father played football at the collegiate level for Syracuse University, paving the way for his sons to have an interest in football.
TV shows and movies 📺
Besides performing on WWE, the future Hall of Famer also hosted his own TV show, "Crashletes," on Nickelodeon and guest-starred on "The Masked Singer." He made other television appearances on "Family Guy" and "Gordan Ramsey's 24 Hours to Hell and Back."
In the film industry, Gronkowski played a role as himself in the 2015 "Entourage" movie and as a police officer in "You Can't Have It" in 2017.
As if TV shows and movies weren't enough to showcase his acting talent, Gronkowski was also in music videos for artists such as Nicki Minaj and Kygo.
'Hey, Gronk!' 🤝
Although his government name is Robert Gronkowski, people who are friends with the former NFL player like to call him "Gronk." For that matter, most football and Gronkowski fans prefer to call him by his nickname instead of his full last name.
He may also like the nickname himself as that is his Instagram username.
Tampa manifestation 🌴
When Gronkowski announced his retirement on Tuesday in an Instagram post, he mentioned a time in college when he responded to an assignment saying he wanted to play in Tampa for the Buccaneers.
"In college, I was asked to write about a dream job opportunity that I wanted to pursue and where the location would be," he said. "Every time I had to write about my future, no matter what, I picked being a professional football player. For that assignment though, we had to pick the location. So I wrote that I wanted to play in Tampa for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for many reasons, the sunny weather being #1."
Luckily for Gronkowski, he had the opportunity to spend two seasons with the Bucs and win a Super Bowl with the franchise.
Breaking records 📈
Gronkowski is regarded as one of the best tight ends in NFL history, and he has the records to show for it.
He is third for most touchdowns for a tight end in league history with 93 touchdowns, according to StatMuse. He also holds the record for most 100-yard games by a tight end with 32 and most seasons with 10 more touchdowns in the same position with five.
Here are other careers record held by Gronkowski.
- Most offensive touchdowns in first two seasons: 28 (shares record with Randy Moss)
- Most career touchdowns per game average among tight ends: 0.69
- Most career average receiving yards per game among tight ends: 68.3
- First tight end to have three seasons with 10+ touchdowns and 1,000+ receiving yards (2011, 2014–15)
- Consecutive seasons with 10 or more touchdowns by a tight end: 3 (2010–2012)
Four Super Bowls 🏆
Gronkowski has won a total of four Super Bowls, three with New England and another with Tampa Bay.
However, due to an injury, he did not play in Super Bowl XLIX when the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons.
His most recent Super Bowl victory occurred in the 2020 season with the Bucs as he scored two touchdowns to help his team defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.
In total, Gronkowski played in five Super Bowls and has scored five touchdowns in those championships, putting him at No. 2 in all-time for all-time receiving touchdowns in Super Bowls.