Rob Gronkowski Retires From the NFL, Again

Sports

| LAST UPDATE 06/24/2022

By Zuzanna Krause
Rob Gronkowski NFL Retirement
Mike Ehrmann via Getty Images

Rob Gronkowski has announced his retirement from the beloved NFL, again. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end took to social media to formally announce he is going back into retirement after originally retiring in 2018. Gronkowski walked away from football after suffering from a series of injuries - but didn't stay gone for long, as fellow NFL player Tom Brody summoned him out of early retirement in 2020 to play for the Florida-based team.

Widely considered as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, Rob Gronkowski, nicknamed "Gronk," began playing for the New England Patriots in 2010 after he was drafted during the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Gronk spent almost his entire career playing for the Patriots, alongside Tom Brady, where the legendary duo won three Super Bowls together. After nine seasons with the Patriots, the athlete called it quits and went until retirement. That is, until joining the Tama Bay Buccaneers just two short years later and taking home another Super Bowl win in 2021.

Tom Brady Rob Gronkowski
Adam Glanzman via Getty Images
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The athlete released a statement about leaving the sport via Instagram, where he reported he once was asked to write about a "dream job opportunity" in college, and he would always respond with wanting to be a professional football player. The athlete wrote, "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 I originally wrote about in college, big time."

"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," Gronk continued. "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," he wrote. So as we say goodbye to Rob Gronkowski, we are lowkey hoping that he will soon step back out of retirement and take home another W. Until then, stay tuned.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below