by Victoria Miele ’28 on December 11, 2025
Sports - NFL
On Nov. 12, NFL player Robert Gronkowski signed a one-day contract with the New England Patriots so he could retire as a Patriot.
In the second round of the NFL draft in 2010, Gronkowski was selected as a tight-end by the Patriots, where he played for nine seasons, winning three Super Bowls. He finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing for two seasons and winning his fourth career Super Bowl.
It was almost no time at all before Pats fans got to know the real Gronk. Immediately after being drafted, he and his brothers celebrated on stage in such a loud manner that Gronk was quickly called by head coach Bill Belichick in an attempt to settle the newest Pats player down. Gronk’s fun-loving personality could not be tapered down, and he continued to amp up Pats fans for his whole career.
Gronkowski is the fourth of five boys and grew up in Amherst, NY. Growing up, the Gronkowski brothers played baseball, hockey, and football, although they were not allowed to start football until the seventh grade, per their parents’ request.
Even with a later start, Gronk’s athleticism carried him to be a fantastic player. He played his senior year of high school in Pittsburgh at Woodland Hills High School, where he was named a first-team all-conference and all-state player. Gronk is well known for his dumb jock persona in the NFL and he is constantly teased for suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a disorder that can result from being concussed a number of times. However, in high school, he had a 3.75 GPA and scored 1560 out of 2400 on his SAT.
Post high school, Gronk committed to play football at the University of Arizona. During his first two years there, he scored 16 touchdowns and had over 1,000 passing yards. During his third year, he suffered from a back injury, but his statistics from the first two seasons were enough to gain interest from the NFL. He was drafted byBelichick and the Patriots in 2010, and his career quickly took off.
In his rookie season of 2010, Gronk caught 10 touchdown passes and had 546 yards. His next season, he got even better with 18 touchdowns, one rushing and 17 passing which is the highest record in the league in a single season. Gronk suffered a number of injuries in the following years and had many surgeries to address ankle problems, a broken forearm, and a torn ACL and MCL.
Gronk played 15 games in 2014 and helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks with six receptions and one touchdown. He suffered more injuries and was benched because of them in 2016 when he won his second Super Bowl ring. He was back in 2017, where he became the third tight-end to record four seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards.
During Gronk’s last season as a Patriot, he helped the team win against the Los Angeles Rams for his third Super Bowl ring. At the age of 29, Gronk announced he no longer wanted to play football and retired. However, after taking a year off, he decided he was not quite done and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his first season at Tampa Bay with quarterback Tom Brady, the team won the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. Gronk caught two touchdown passes from Brady early in the game, and they maintained their lead. He played one more season with the Bucs before again announcing his retirement.
However, Gronk’s love for New England never faded despite his short time in Tampa Bay. He signed a one-day contract so that he could finally retire once and for all with the team that launched his career, forever known as a Patriot.