Former Wildcat Rob Gronkowski officially retires from NFL

An era is officially over… again, as Arizona Football legend Rob Gronkowski officially retires from the NFL, ending a legendary career.

It is a sad day for Arizona Wildcat fans, as one of the NFL’s greats and former Wildcat legends, Rob Gronkowski announced he will officially be retiring from football… again.

Making news via social media on Tuesday afternoon, the 11-year NFL veteran announced that he will be retiring from the NFL for good this time.

After spending about the past several weeks weighing his options, the Gronk will officially call it quits, capping off a marvelous career in which he won four Super Bowls, and was named a First-Team All-Pro four times, and also was a five-time Pro Bowl Selection.

Drafted 42nd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft, Gronk spent nine seasons in New England before spending 2019 in retirement. He returned to football in 2020, playing just two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers putting together a Hall of Fame career.

With the Patriots, Gronkowski appeared in 115 games, totaling 521 receptions for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns. During that time, he also appeared in 16 playoff games and four Super Bowls.

In Tampa, Gronkowski saw a resurgence of sorts, totaling 1,425 yards on 100 receptions with 13 touchdowns.

It can surely be argued, that Gronk’s career as a tight end was one of the best in NFL history. Barring injury, there’s no guessing where he could have perhaps ended up!

Over the years we saw his charisma, his goofy antics, and overall lovable character on the sidelines that made him a beloved football player. However, as he walks away from the game for good, he leaves a lasting impression.

Now 32, Gronkowski will begin to focus on life after football while he still has his health, and there’s no doubt he will be a Hall of Famer when all is said and done.

Here is the lengthy and heartfelt message that Gronk posted to social media, announcing his retirement:

"“In college, I was asked to write about a dream job opportunity that I wanted to pursue and where the location would be. 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, for many reasons, the sunny weather being #1. I completely forgot about writing this report until 2 years ago when I had the opportunity to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And let me tell ya, the journey in Tampa over the last 2 years has blown away what I originally wrote about in college, big time. And for this, 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. The friendships and relationships I have made will last forever, and I appreciate every single one of my teammates and coaches for giving everything they had as well. From retirement, back to football and winning another championship and now back to chilling out, thank you to all. Buccaneers fans, the Krewe, without you guys, none of this is possible, all of ya brought it every game, thank you for all you do.Cheers to what’s next, maybe sailing the seas Arghhhhhh!!”"

In honor of the Gronk, here are some much-needed highlights of him while at Arizona!