Four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski, an NFL tight end for 11 seasons as a member of the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, announced his retirement Tuesday in a message posted on social media.
This is the second time Gronkowski has retired from the NFL, having previously hung up his cleats in New England after playing from 2010 to 2018 with the Patriots before returning in 2020 to play two seasons with the Buccaneers.
“I want to thank the entire world-class Buccaneers organization for an incredible journey, trusting me to play again and help build a championship team. I will now return to my retirement home, stepping away from football again with the head high knowing I gave everything I had, good or bad, every time I stepped on the field,” wrote Gronkowski, 33, on social networks.
“The friendships and relationships I’ve made will last forever, and I thank each of my teammates and coaches for giving everything they had as well. From retirement, to coming back to football and winning another championship and now coming back to relax, thank you all,” he added.
Throughout his 11 NFL seasons, Gronkowski was part of four Super Bowl-winning teams, three times with the Patriots and once with the Buccaneers.
“Rob is a true professional who left it all on the field for us the past two seasons and helped establish a championship culture in our building,” Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht said.
Gronk to the rescue of a Tampa high schoolGronkowski holds two Super Bowl records: the most career receptions by a tight end and the most receiving yards at the position.
His 92 career receiving touchdowns are third in NFL history among tight ends, trailing only Antonio Gates’ 116 and Tony Gonzalez’s 111, despite Gronkowski playing far fewer games (143). than Gates (236) and Gonzalez (270).
Gronkowski played all of his NFL seasons with quarterback Tom Brady. The duo’s 90 touchdown connections in the regular season make them the second most prolific touchdown passing and receiving tandem in NFL history, behind only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison’s astonishing 112 touchdown passes.