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Rob Gronkowski, Buccaneers Reportedly Agree to 1-Year Contract Worth Up to $10M
March 15, 2021
First, a fourth Super Bowl title. And now a new contract.
It's safe to say Rob Gronkowski's decision to return to football following his retirement worked out well for him.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Gronkowski agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million Monday, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
"I'll remain unretired," the tight end told reporters following the Buccaneers' victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. "I'm a free agent for the first time in my career. I definitely see myself coming back ... I'm gonna soak this in and see where I'm at in a couple weeks, but I don't see why not."
It is no surprise that the University of Arizona product returned to Tampa Bay alongside his former New England Patriots partner in crime, Tom Brady, especially after he was so dominant in that Super Bowl win.
Gronkowski hauled in six catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over the Chiefs and joined Jerry Rice as the only players with two or more touchdown receptions in multiple Super Bowls.
He and Brady also passed Rice and Montana's NFL postseason record of 12 touchdown passes between a quarterback and a receiver with their 13th and 14th.
Gronkowski was already a surefire Hall of Famer and arguably the best tight end in NFL history when he retired following the 2018 season. During his time with the Patriots, he was a three-time Super Bowl champion, five-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro selection.
He had five seasons with double-digit touchdowns and four seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards with New England and was a massive part of the team's dynasty.
While Gronkowski wasn't that dominant with the Bucs, he was still effective during the 2020 regular season with 45 catches for 623 yards and seven touchdowns. Those were solid numbers for a tight end, especially in an offense with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown and only so many targets to go around.
His days of being the NFL's best tight end are over, but Gronkowski is only 31 years old and coming off a head-turning performance in the Super Bowl.
He will look to keep it rolling with the Bucs in 2021.