National Football League

Rob Gronkowski announces retirement

Updated Jun. 21, 2022 4:22 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement Tuesday.

A four-time All-Pro and four-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, "Gronk" originally retired in 2019, before coming back to join Tom Brady with the Bucs in 2020. 

He caught 100 passes for 1,425 yards and 13 TDs during his two-year tenure with the Bucs.

A second-round pick out of Arizona in 2010, Gronkowski broke out in 2011 with the Pats, setting an NFL record for tight ends with 17 TD receptions. That season, he also recorded a career-high 90 receptions for 1,327 yards. He was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2017, and earned five Pro Bowl nods.

Gronk also received the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award in 2014 and made its All-Decade team for the 2010s, plus its 100th Anniversary All-Time team. A surefire Hall of Famer, Gronk retires with several records at his position, including 100-yard receiving games (32), postseason TDs (15), and receptions (23) and receiving yards (297) in the Super Bowl. 

Rob Gronkowski announces his retirement from the NFL

Colin Cowherd and Joy Taylor react to the news of Rob Gronkowski's retirement from the NFL. Colin and Joy look back on Gronk's impact on the NFL, and what he contributed to both the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

His 92 career receiving TDs are 12th-most in NFL history, and third-most at his position. In total, Gronk caught 621 passes for 9,286 yards.

"In college, I was asked to write about a dream job opportunity that I wanted to pursue and where the location would be," Gronk, 33, said on his social media pages. "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. 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. From retirement, back to football and winning another championship and now back to chilling out, thank you to all. Buccaneers." 

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

National Football League

New England Patriots

Arizona Wildcats