Rob Gronkowski officially retires; Brady shows support; fans react

Four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski announced Tuesday he is walking away from the NFL after 11 seasons.

Taking to instagram, the future Hall of Fame tight end thanked his former team, the Buccaneers, and reflected on his experience with the organization.

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

Gronk retires, again

Reading about Gronk’s comment on his prime dream in college puts his return from his initial 2019 retirement in perspective; he had not yet played in his favorite sunny weather as he had once hoped for. After nine years with the Patriots in New England, Gronk was able to go back for another Super Bowl run in 2020, alongside Tom Brady in sunny Tampa Bay, netting 55 catches for 802 yards and six TDs in just 12 games last season.

Now we can believe he leaves the football field with absolute fulfillment, as he says.

Gronk, the football hulk

The 33-year-old also leaves the league as arguably the greatest tight end in NFL history. He compiled 621 catches, 9,286 yards, and 92 TDs in 11 seasons. And as both a pass-catcher and a blocker, Gronk totaled 1,000-plus yards and five double-digit touchdowns campaigns in four seasons. Aside from being a four-time Super Bowl champion, Gronk was named to the All-Pro team four times as well, and was selected to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Brady’s reaction to Gronk’s retirement

And while Tom Brady showed his support amid Gronk’s retirement announcement, most fans seem to think that the tight end will be back when Brady makes the call during the 2022 season. Here’s an example of some of these social media posts:

Brady commented on Gronk’s instagram post reading, “Love you as a man, teammate and friend. One of a kind in every way.”