Former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski retires for a second time

One of the best tight ends in NFL history has called it a career.

Former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski has retired for a second time. This time for good.

Gronk issued the following statement this afternoon on social media.

“In college, I was asked to write about a dream job opportunity that I wanted to pursue and where the location would be. 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. 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 | 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 * Arghhhhhh!!”

The 33-year-old Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, retired in 2019, then unretired in 2020 for his final two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gronk is a four-time Super Bowl champion, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, a four-time First Team All-Pro. He was also selected to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Gronk has set numerous records for touchdowns, receptions, and receiving yards by a tight-end.