Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played his final two seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is a four-time Super Bowl champion (XLIX, LI, LIII, LV), a five-time Pro Bowl selection, a four-time first-team All-Pro selection, and was selected to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Gronkowski played college football for the Arizona Wildcats, earning third-team All-American honors as a sophomore in 2008. Despite playing only two collegiate seasons, his 18.8 yards per reception average and 1,197 receiving yards were team records for his position. The Patriots selected Gronkowski in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft, after he missed his junior year due to back surgery, immediately becoming a major contributor to the franchise's dynasty.
A complete tight end, he was considered elite as both a receiver and a blocker. He set several NFL records, including being the first player of his position to lead the league in receiving touchdowns (17 in 2011). Gronkowski also has the most combined receptions (23) and receiving yards (297) by a tight end in Super Bowl history. He is ranked first in average yards per target (9.9) and average touchdowns per game (0.69) among tight ends. Gronkowski also holds the Patriots franchise record of total receiving touchdowns (79).
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Early life
Gronkowski was born in Amherst, New York, on May 14, 1989, and was raised in nearby Williamsville. He is the second youngest son of Gordon Gronkowski and Diane Walters. His father was a college football guard for Syracuse University from 1977 to 1981 and later founded a high-end fitness equipment business. He is a great-grandson of Ignatius Gronkowski, who represented the United States in cycling at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and held five world records in the sport. Gronkowski's parents divorced in 2008. His four brothers – Gordie, Dan, Chris, and Glenn – all played collegiate sports, and later played professionally.
Gronkowski played hockey until he was 14; he then started playing basketball. He attended Williamsville North High School (WNHS) for his first three years of high school, playing tight end and defensive end, as well as freshman kickoff specialist, supposedly due to his having the biggest feet on the team; center in basketball; and first baseman in baseball for the WNHS Spartans. As a junior playing football, he recorded 36 receptions for 648 yards and seven touchdowns on offense, and 73 tackles and six sacks on defense. He was named an All-Western New York first-team and All-State second-team player.
In 2006, Gronkowski moved to suburban Pittsburgh, where he attended Woodland Hills High School for his senior year. Initially ruled ineligible by the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League because of his transfer, he recorded eight receptions for 152 yards and four touchdowns at Woodland Hills after the ruling of ineligibility was overturned. He was named a SuperPrep All-American, PrepStar All-American, Associated Press Class 4-A all-state, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Fabulous 22", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first-team all-conference, The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) "Platinum 33", and a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "Terrific 25" player. He was recruited by Kentucky, Arizona, Clemson, Louisville, Maryland, Ohio State, and Syracuse. Gronkowski graduated from Woodland Hills in 2007 with a 3.75 GPA and 1560 out of 2400 SAT score.
College career
After graduating from high school, Gronkowski attended the University of Arizona as a Pre-Business major and played for the Arizona Wildcats football team from 2007 to 2009 under head coach Mike Stoops. As a freshman in 2007, he recorded 28 receptions for 525 yards and six touchdowns. His 18.8 yards per reception average was the best on the team and his receiving yards were a school record for a tight end. He was named The Sporting News freshman All-American, Rivals.com freshman All-American, The Sporting News freshman Pac-10, and All-Pac-10 honorable mention player.
Gronkowski missed the first three games of the 2008 season, but later recorded 47 receptions for 672 yards and a team-best ten touchdowns. Five of his touchdowns were scored in his first two games against UCLA and Washington. He was twice named the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week, including his performance in a failed comeback bid against Oregon, when he caught 12 passes for 143 yards. He set the school records for a tight end for single-game, single-season, and career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Gronkowski was named an Associated Press third-team All-American and All-Pac-10 first-team tight end.
Prior to the 2009 season, Gronkowski was placed on the watchlist for the Lombardi Award. He missed his junior season in 2009 due to back surgery, which caused his draft stock to fall.
Professional career
New England Patriots
Gronkowski was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round with the 42nd overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, after a draft day trade with the Oakland Raiders; in pre-draft evaluations revealed in May 2016, Raiders scouts had rated Gronkowski as the "best all-around player in the draft". He became the highest drafted tight end out of Arizona, breaking the mark set by Brandon Manumaleuna in 2001. He signed a four-year contract on July 25, 2010. The deal was worth $4.4 million, with a $1.76 million signing bonus.
During the preseason, Gronkowski was one of three NFL players to score four touchdowns, tying Victor Cruz, a rookie wide receiver for the New York Giants, and Anthony Dixon, a running back for the San Francisco 49ers. In the Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Gronkowski caught his first regular season touchdown in the fourth quarter on a one-yard pass from Tom Brady in the 38–24 victory.
In a Week 10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gronkowski caught three touchdown passes from Brady, becoming the first rookie in Patriots history, and the youngest rookie in NFL history to accomplish this feat. In honor of the feat, Madden NFL 12 has a "Rob Gronkowski Award" for players who have a tight end catch three or more touchdowns in a single game.
Visiting his hometown of Buffalo in Week 16, Gronkowski caught two touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills. He recorded his first 100-yard receiving game with six receptions for 102 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in the regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins to give him 10 on the season. In 16 games played, Gronkowski started 11 games and caught 42 passes for 546 yards. Despite missing his entire 2009 college season following back surgery, Gronkowski did not miss a single game or practice all season; he was the first rookie tight end since the NFL-AFL merger to score 10 touchdowns. The Patriots finished with 14–2 record and won the AFC East. In the playoffs, Gronkowski made his postseason debut against the New York Jets in the Divisional Round. In the 28–21 upset loss, he had four receptions for 65 receiving yards.
Gronkowski was nominated three times for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week, in Weeks 10, 14, and 17, winning twice and losing in Week 10 to Tim Tebow. Gronkowski also finished fifth in fan balloting at tight end for the 2011 Pro Bowl, and fourth overall among rookies. Gronkowski received one writer's vote for the Associated Press 2010 All-Pro Team (writers only vote for one tight end). He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.
Initial retirement
On March 24, 2019, after nine seasons, Gronkowski announced his retirement from the NFL, at 29 years old, via Instagram. He further elaborated on his decision five months later, saying that the pain and injuries he had suffered throughout his career had taken a toll on his mental health:
"I was not in a good place. Football was bringing me down, and I didn't like it. I was losing that joy in life... I could play right now if I wanted to play. I'm feeling good. Physically, I could do it. Mentally-wise, desire-wise, it's not there... I am very satisfied with where I am in life right now. I truly believe going through those tough times, nine years, off the field, on the field, has brought me to this point. I believe I'm on the right path in my life."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On April 21, 2020, Gronkowski agreed to come out of retirement. The Patriots, which still held Gronkowski's rights, traded him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a compensatory fourth round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. The trade reunited him with his former Patriots teammate Tom Brady, who had signed with the Buccaneers a month prior. Head coach Bruce Arians stated that it was Brady himself who was adamant for the team to trade for Gronkowski.
On October 18, 2020, Gronkowski caught five passes for 78 yards and his first touchdown with the Buccaneers in a 38–10 victory over the Green Bay Packers. It was Gronkowski's first touchdown catch since December 9, 2018, against the Miami Dolphins.
In Week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Gronkowski recorded six catches for 106 yards during the 27–24 loss.
In Week 16 against the Detroit Lions, Gronkowski recorded two catches for 58 yards that both resulted in touchdowns during the 47–7 win. Overall, he finished with 45 receptions for 623 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
Gronkowski's 29-yard catch towards the end of the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game set up the critical lead-extending field goal for Ryan Succop, with the Buccaneers winning 31–26 over the Packers.
Gronkowski caught two of the three touchdown passes thrown by Tom Brady in the Buccaneers' 31–9 victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. This gave him and Brady sole possession of the record for most postseason touchdowns between a quarterback and receiver, with 14. The duo was previously tied with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice for 12 postseason touchdowns. Gronkowski became the first player in NFL history to catch a pass in five different Super Bowls.
On March 22, 2021, Gronkowski re-signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year deal worth $10 million.
Though the 2020 season had been a rare season in which Gronkowski played all sixteen games, 2021 proved much more problematic for Gronkowski in terms of his health. The first two games were injury free. During the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Gronkowski had eight receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns in a 31–29 victory. In Week 2, during a 48–25 win against the Atlanta Falcons, Gronkowski had four catches for 39 yards and two touchdowns. However, in a Week 3 game versus the Los Angeles Rams, he took a hit that resulted in multiple rib fractures and a punctured lung, which kept him essentially out of action for the next seven weeks, including a game against his former team in Foxborough, with the notable exception of an abortive attempt to return in Week 8, in which he played only a handful of snaps. When he returned in earnest in Week 11, he made six receptions on eight targets for 71 yards in a win over the New York Giants. He had his first 100+ yard receiving game in Week 12 against the Indianapolis Colts, leading all receivers with 123 yards on seven receptions, and followed that with his third multiple-touchdown game of the season, netting two end zone visits among his four catches for 58 yards in Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons. This brought the Brady-Gronkowski connection to a total of 90 regular-season touchdowns, moving them on to second place on the all-time quarterback-receiver list, behind only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison. He finished the 2021 season with 55 receptions for 802 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. In the Wild Card Round against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had a receiving touchdown in the 31–15 victory. In the Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Rams, he had four receptions for 85 yards in the 30–27 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
Second retirement
Gronkowski announced his retirement for a second time on June 21, 2022.
On November 9, 2025, Gronkowski announced he would sign a one-day contract with the New England Patriots to retire as a member of the Patriots organization. A press conference to commemorate the signing was held on November 12, 2025. At the conference, Patriots owner Robert Kraft revealed that he had originally planned for Gronkowski to sign the contract during his future Patriots Hall of Fame induction, but chose to do it immediately to honor the final wish of Susan Hurley—a friend of both Gronkowski and Kraft who had recently passed away from cancer.
Career statistics
Career highlights
Awards and honors
NFL
4× Super Bowl champion (XLIX, LI, LIII, LV)
NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2014)
4× First-team All-Pro (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017)
NFL receiving touchdowns leader (2011)
NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
PFWA All-Rookie Team (2010)
New England Patriots Hall of Fame
New England Patriots All-2010s Team
New England Patriots All-Dynasty Team
7× NFL Top 100 — 21st (2012), 25th (2013), 41st (2014), 10th (2015), 9th (2016), 23rd (2017), 15th (2018)
College
Third-team All-American (2008)
First-team All-Pac-10 (2008)
Media
2021 ESPY Award – Outstanding Team (with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Organizational
2019 USO-Metro Merit Award
Professional wrestling
WWE
WWE 24/7 Championship (1 time)
Records
First tight end to lead the league in receiving touchdowns (2011)
Most touchdown receptions by a tight end in season: 17 (2011)
First tight end with 1,000+ career postseason receiving yards
Most career touchdown receptions: 79
Most games with multiple touchdowns: 16
Most games with 100+ receiving yards by a tight end: 26
Highest receiving yards per game average for a tight end (season): 82.9 (2011)
Football legacy
Described as an "NFL supernova," a "sui generis," a "gold standard," a "generational marvel," and an "on-field force of nature," Gronkowski revolutionized the tight end position and became the envisioned archetype for which the position could and should be. For ESPN, "it felt like the tight end position was invented in response to his rare gifts, the singular marriage of power and grace he brought to the game."
Gronkowski was noted for his versatility, combining receiving ability associated with a wide receiver with the blocking skills of an offensive lineman. Listed at 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) and 265 lb (120 kg), with hands measuring 10¾ inches, he was at times compared in physical terms to NBA players LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal. Bill Belichick once remarked “In the ultimate team sport, Rob was a great, great teammate. His production spoke for itself, but his daily attitude, unmistakably positive energy wherever he went and toward whoever he touched will never be forgotten.” He was the highest ranked tight end in the annual NFL Top 100 Players five times, as voted by his peers. The Patriots also included him in its 2010s All-Decade Team. He has set several NFL records and was selected not only in the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team but also in the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
"Gronk Spike"
Known for his exuberant personality, Gronkowski has been credited in resurrecting the spike as a touchdown celebration and making it his own. His signature "Gronk Spike" has been a product of the less restrictive scoring celebrations of the NFL compared to high school and college and debuted on September 26, 2010, after scoring his second NFL touchdown. It had become a fan phenomenon, with MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference calculating that Gronkowski's arm moves 130° with the football leaving his hand at 60 miles per hour delivering 650 pounds of force. He is also known to dance before spiking, and in 2012 imitated a Queen's Guard which he described as "that little nutcracker dude" before his touchdown celebration while playing at Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom.
Outside football
In July 2015, Gronkowski co-wrote a memoir titled It's Good to be Gronk with Jason Rosenhaus. It was published by Simon & Schuster's and Derek Jeter's Jeter Publishing and became a New York Times Bestseller.
Started in 2015, Gronkowski and his four brothers operate Gronk Fitness, a fitness business that sells Gronk-branded gym equipment and has partnerships with other fitness companies including Life Fitness and Xtreme Monkey.
Gronkowski has stated that partying improved his playing abilities, noting, "You go out and get refreshed, and it just makes you want to go back out on that practice field and keep going hard." During an on-air interview with ESPN Deportes after an AFC Championship win in 2012 he responded in Spanish answering, "¡Yo soy fiesta!" (literally, "I am party!") when asked how he will celebrate the victory. The clip went viral, and his Gronk Nation, L.L.C. later trademarked the catchphrase.
In 2019, Gronkowski entered ESPN's "World Fame 100" list of most famous athletes in the world; the outlet estimated his endorsement income the past year alone was $8 million. In March 2021, his first NFT card collection sold for $1.2 million.
In October 2020, ZooTampa at Lowry Park named their newly born greater one-horned rhino "Gronk" to celebrate Gronkowski joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In October 2024, Gronkowski partnered with his former teammate Julian Edelman and Assaf Swissa, founder of the creative agency Superdigital, to establish Nuthouse Sports (formerly Coast Productions). This entertainment studio launched the podcast "Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jules," which premiered on October 15, 2024.
Sponsorships and endorsements
Gronkowski has appeared in print, television and online advertisements for brands such as USAA, Nike, Dunkin' Donuts, Visa, T-Mobile, Tide, Lyft, JetBlue, Zynga, Cheerios, Oberto, SixStar Pro, Monster Energy, SMS Audio,Campbell's, Bodyarmor SuperDrink, DraftKings, Kids Footlocker, and video games Mobile Strike and Halo among others.
In 2012, PLB Sports began manufacturing "Gronk Flakes", a frosted cornflakes breakfast cereal named after and endorsed by Gronkowski. Its initial run of 64,800 boxes cost $3.99 each and available at Stop & Shop supermarkets in New England. After the success of the cereals, PLB Sports released "Gronk's Hot Sauce" in 2015. The following year Gronkowski and Monster Energy released a signature "Gronk" beverage distributed by Coca-Cola.
Gronkowski has appeared for several advertisements for Tide including commercials for Super Bowl LI. He was the endorser of Tide Pods, and consequently partnered with the brand for a public service announcement discouraging children and teens from eating the laundry detergent pods after a viral internet challenge in 2017–18.
In August 2019, Gronkowski credited cannabidiol (CBD) oil, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis plants, for making him pain-free for the first time in a decade, and has advocated sports governing bodies to allow players to use it for pain management.
Professional wrestling
A lifelong wrestling fan, Gronkowski first made a cameo appearance during the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 in 2017 to help his friend Mojo Rawley. He hosted WrestleMania 36 which aired on April 4–5, 2020, and won the WWE 24/7 Championship on the second day of the event. After being the longest-reigning champion of the title in a single run, he eventually lost it to R-Truth on June 1, 2020. Later that year he won a Slammy Award as Celebrity of the Year in WWE.
Film, television and other media
Gronkowski has been featured on the covers of GQ, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN The Body Issue, Sports Illustrated, and Muscle & Fitness among others. He was the cover of video sports game Madden NFL 17 published by EA Sports in 2016 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360. The cover featured the tight end in his signature touchdown celebration called the "Gronk Spike".
An erotica novel inspired by Gronkowski called A Gronking To Remember, written by Lacey Noonan, was published in December 2014. It has been read aloud on broadcast by Gronkowski himself on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as comedian Gilbert Gottfried, and rapper Travis Scott.
Gronkowski has appeared as fictionalized versions of himself in the 2015 film Entourage, a 2017 episode of Family Guy entitled "Gronkowsbees", The Simpsons episode "The Town", and has roles in the American crime-drama thriller film American Violence (2017) and You Can't Have It (2017) among others. He had been a co-host of Crashletes from 2016 to 2017 on Nickelodeon and competed in TBS's Drop the Mic in 2017. The same year, Gronkowski appeared on ABC's Shark Tank.
In 2017, Gronkowski executive produced and hosted Verizon's Go90 original show MVP in which "business owners and entrepreneurs pitch their products or services to a panel of VIP athletes who weigh in with their expert opinion." It had 36 episodes in two seasons. In July 2018, he joined Discovery Channel's Shark Week where he helped tag endangered tiger sharks in The Bahamas.
Gronkowski joined Fox Sports as an analyst for its NFL programming during his year-long retirement in 2019, making his on-air debut during Fox NFL Thursday. Gronkowski also co-hosted Fox's New Year's Eve with Steve Harvey in New York in 2019.
In 2020, Gronkowski competed on the third season of The Masked Singer as "White Tiger" where he made it to the Super Nine. In April 2020, he and his partner Camille Kostek starred in the music video of "I'll Wait" by Kygo. He also served as team captain in the sports-based comedy panel game Game On! which premiered on May 27, 2020, on CBS and ran for one season.
Charity
Gronkowski set up the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation which is dedicated to "help kids stay actively involved in school and sports and provide them with the tools needed to help them follow their dreams and live a happy and more successful life". The foundation provides grants to sports programs with an emphasis on health, community and fitness. He stated, "I created the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation with my family and my friends, because growing up, I had a lot. I had everything as a kid, from playgrounds to sports, and a lot of people to play with, and thus everything I needed to be successful later as an athlete."
Aside from his own foundation, Gronkowski has also regularly helped the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Patriots Foundation. In addition, he annually shaves his head for One Mission Buzz Off for kids with cancer. Noted for being generous with his time and resources, Gronkowski has also made several appearances at New England children's hospitals and schools to support local charities. In 2016, he received the Ron Burton Community Service Award from the New England Patriots for his charitable works and leadership in the local community.
On March 26, 2019, he accepted the Merit Award from United Service Organizations which recognizes "individuals of outstanding creative talent who are dedicated to serving others through volunteerism." On April 6, 2019, he was honored with the Wish Hero Award by the Make-A-Wish Foundation for his work on granting 14 wishes of children with life-threatening sicknesses during his professional football career.
Gronkowski and his partner Camille Kostek donated more than 20,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to hospitals and fire departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he donated $1.2 million to renovate the Charlesbank Playground at Boston's Charles River Esplanade hoping that "it will motivate kids to be outdoors, get fit and have fun".
In February 2023, Gronkowski formed a partnership with an animal health company to raise awareness about valley fever in animals. In September 2023, he met with members of the United States House of Representatives to discuss the development of a vaccine for valley fever.
Personal life
Since 2015, Gronkowski has been in a relationship with model Camille Kostek. They first met at a Patriots charity event on Thanksgiving 2013. They live in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Tampa, Florida.
In 2015, Gronkowski stated that he had not spent any of the money he has made from his NFL contracts and strictly lived off the earnings from his business ventures, endorsement deals, and appearance fees.
