Rob Gronkowski Will Sign 1-Day Patriots Contract, Retire After Historic NFL Career

Former NFL tight end and Fox Sports personality Rob Gronkowski announced Sunday that he will sign a one-day contract with the New England Patriots this week to retire as a member of the organization.

"Here's some news first, everyone," he said ahead of New England's matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the other team Gronk played for in his NFL career. "I am signing a one-day contract with the Patriots this week coming up to retire as a Patriot and be a Patriot for life... so I'm going with the Patriots."

The Patriots later announced that Gronkowski will sign his contract on Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. ET.

Not only did he announce the news of his one-day contract, Gronk also joked that his former teammate, Las Vegas Raiders minority owner and Fox Sports analyst Tom Brady, would be rooting for the Bucs.

"I know Tom, and he is still bitter (that) the Patriots let him go for his final three seasons in the NFL, so he's secretly rooting for the Buccaneers," he said.

"Hey, I got great friends on both sides. I'm not saying who I'm rooting for," Brady countered. "I'm not really rooting for one or the other, but one team built me a statue, so the ball's in your court, Tampa. Just saying!"

Mike Reiss of ESPN offered more background on the origin of the idea for Gronk to retire with the Pats on a one-day deal:

"The ceremonial contract was suggested by local philanthropist Susan Hurley, with whom Gronkowski developed a close friendship through his extensive charity work in New England. In August, when Gronkowski unveiled a new playground in Boston to which he donated $1.8 million, he said it was inspired by Hurley. On that day, Hurley asked, 'Can we just make it official and sign him for a day so he can retire as a Patriot?' Owner Robert Kraft—who had already planned to do so when Gronkowski was eligible for induction into the team Hall of Fame next year—endorsed the idea of expediting it and Gronkowski said: 'I like that a lot, and the reason that we're really going to do that is because of Susan Hurley.' Hurley lost a courageous battle with ovarian cancer on Nov. 1. She was 62."

Gronkowski, 36, spent his first nine seasons with the Patriots before spending the 2019 season retired. He then returned to football in 2020, spending two seasons with the Bucs.

Overall, he registered 621 catches for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns in his career, winning four Super Bowl rings. He was a five-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro selection, and was one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history.

One of those titles may have come with Brady and the Bucs, but it's clear that Gronkowski sees himself first and foremost as a Patriot.