Rob Gronkowski is unarguably one of the best tight ends to have ever played in the National Football League (NFL) as he is viewed as the archetype for which a player in the position should be. The three-time Super Bowl champion, who made a name for himself as a part of the New England Patriots team that featured Tom Brady and was coached by Bill Belichick, began his professional career in 2010 after having enjoyed a decent college football career at the University of Arizona.
Gronk, as he is famously known as, has set several NFL records, including being the only tight end in NFL history to reach 1,000 or more yards and the first to ever lead the league in receiving touchdowns. With his numerous accomplishments, it is no surprise to see that the star player has signed some pretty mouth-watering deals as numerous top companies and brands fight each other to get his endorsement and feature him in their adverts and promotional campaigns.
Breakdown of Rob Gronkowski’s Contracts in the NFL
Rob Gronkowski started earning the big bucks after he was drafted into the NFL in 2010 by the New England Patriots with the 42nd overall pick. After being selected by the Patriots, he put pen to paper on a four-year rookie contract worth $4.4 million. The deal further came with a $1.76 million signing bonus.
Gronk proved to be a great addition to his team during pre-season and he was able to replicate this as the 2010 season got started. By the end of his rookie year, he had recorded a total of 10 touchdowns and 42 receptions for 546 receiving yards. The following season proved to be an even better year for the player as he set NFL records for tight ends by recording 18 touchdowns and 1,326 receiving yards. His achievements in the 2011 season went on to earn him a place on the AP All-Pro First Team. He was also voted as the starting tight end for the AFC team at the 2012 Pro Bowl. Since then, Gronk has been named to the Pro Bowl four more times; in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017.
Before the 2012 season went underway, New England Patriots executives awarded Rob Gronkowski a new bumper contract. In June 2012, the athlete penned a six-year deal worth $54 million, the biggest contract ever signed by an NFL tight end. It further came with a signing bonus of $8 million.
The 2012 and 2013 seasons did not play out as both Gronk and the team would have hoped as he suffered multiple injuries that required him to go under the knife six different times. He had four surgeries on his forearm, one on his back, and another to repair his ACL and MCL. By 2014, the player was able to get back to his best as he and his star quarterback teammate, Tom Brady, were able to lead their team to victory at Super Bowl XLIX. He received the Comeback Player of the Year award at the 2015 ESPYs for having overcome his multiple injuries to play again at the highest level.
In 2016, Rob Gronkowski led the Patriots to another championship at Super Bowl LI. In the following years, his team continued to show dominance in the league, making appearances at the 2017 and 2018 championship games. They, however, lost Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles but won Super Bowl LII against the Los Angeles Rams.
At the end of the 2018 season, Gronk announced that he was retiring from the game as the injuries he had suffered in the past were taking a toll on him. The tight end would go on to spend a year in retirement before returning in 2020 to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following a trade by his former team who still held his rights.
Other Avenues Through Which He Makes Money
Rob Gronkowski has insisted that he has not spent any of the money he made from the contracts he signed in the NFL. All he has been spending and strictly lives on are his earnings from endorsement deals, appearance fees, and what he makes from other business ventures. ESPN’s “World Fame 100” list estimated that the tight end took home about $8 million that year from endorsement income.
Gronk has appeared in ads on TV, print, and online, for brands like Dunkin Donuts, Nike, T-Mobile, Tide, and JetBlue. The list further extends to include video games like Halo and Mobile Strike, Visa, Lyft, Cheerios, Zynga, Sizstar Pro, Oberto, Kids Footlocker, and DraftKings among many others. Due to his long involvement with Tide, he appeared in a public service announcement video where he discouraged children and all others from eating the company’s laundry detergent pod as a result of a viral internet challenge.
In 2012, the athlete signed off on PLB Sports producing a frosted cornflakes breakfast cereal named “Gronk Flakes”. The venture was a huge success and led the company to produce “Gronk’s Hot Sauce” in 2015. In 2016, the energy drink company, Monster Energy, collaborated with him to release a signature beverage called “Gronk” which was distributed by Coca-Cola.
In 2017, the athlete who had been a lifelong fan of wrestling signed a deal with WWE. He went on to make a cameo appearance at WrestleMania 33 during the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Three years later, in 2020, he returned to host WrestleMania 36 where he won the WWE 24/7 Championship.
Rob Gronkowski has further made some money through the sale of his memoir, It’s Good to be Gronk. He collaborated with Jason Rosenhaus to write the book that was published by Simon & Schuster’s and Derek Jeter’s Jeter Publishing and has become a New York Times Bestseller. He has also appeared in various TV series and movies, either as a fictionalized version of himself or in a role. He was first seen in Entourage (2015) before he appeared in a 2017 episode of Family Guy titled Gronkowsbees. Other roles he has had are in American Violence (2017), You Can’t Have It (2017) and Deported (2018) among others.
What is Rob Gronkowski’s Actual Net Worth?
Rob Gronkowski has recorded tremendous success in his career and it is no surprise to see that his net worth has been estimated to be around $40 million. The athlete is able to be worth that much thanks to his huge earnings from salaries, endorsement deals, and other business dealings.
As mentioned above, the tight end signed a $54 million deal with the Patriots in 2012, the highest deal ever given to a player in his position in the NFL. This did not come as a surprise since he was regarded by both his peers and sports analysts as the best tight end the NFL has ever seen.
Gronk has managed to sustain his wealth and is even constantly adding to it thanks to his larger-than-life personality both on and off the field of play. His effervescence did not only make him a fan favorite but it also bestowed the status of an icon on him.
