ROB Gronkowski has profited handsomely off of his eleven-year NFL career.
The legendary former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end, 34, was a key component in four of Tom Brady’s Super Bowl victories.
Rob Gronkowski won four Super Bowls during his eleven-year NFL careerCredit: Getty
In 2022, Gronkowski asked Tom Brady to throw him one more pass to earn him $1 millionCredit: YouTube/Supreme Highlights
Gronkowski’s Hall of Fame-worthy career has also led to deep pockets, with the four-time First-Team All-Pro having earned over $70 million during his playing days from contracts alone.
And Gronk has Brady to thank specifically for $1 million of that.
Entering his final regular season game in 2022, a 41-17 win against the Carolina Panthers, Gronkowski was on the verge of earning $1 million in incentives.
This was because his contract stipulated that should he reach 55 catches and 750 receiving yards, each would earn him $500,000.
And after securing the yardage required earlier in the game, Gronkowski was captured by Paramout+ cameras for Inside The NFL approaching Brady asking for one more catch so he could hit $1 million on the day.
“Let’s go, I need one more,” he told Brady.
Gronkowski later told a staff member: “If I don’t get the seventh catch, I have to go get a real job.”
But ask and Brady shall deliver, as proved to be the case when Gronkowski hauled in his seventh reception of the day to secure his bonus.
After the game, Gronkowski told the media: “It’s cool to hit those, gonna have to bring out all the tight ends out to dinner.
“A couple of the quarterbacks – I don’t bring Tom out, I’m going to bring the backup quarterbacks out to dinner and all that good stuff. Maybe my coach out for dinner.”
Gronkowski and the Bucs went on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wildcard Round, before falling to the eventual Super Bowl Champions – the Los Angeles Rams – in the Divisional Round.
This proved to be Gronkowski’s final NFL season, opting to retire for a second, and last, time that offseason.
He retired having racked up 9,286 receiving yards, 93 total touchdowns, five Pro Bowl appearances, and as a member of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Brady and Gronkowski were teammates throughout the tight end’s careerCredit: Getty