Former Arizona Wildcat Rob Gronkowski retires from NFL for second time

Don’t expect another Gronk encore performance.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski announced Tuesday he is retiring from the NFL for the second time. In announced his retirement, Gronkowski shared a goal he wrote for himself as a student at the University of Arizona.

“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.”

Gronkowski revitalized his career with the Buccaneers after previously retiring following the 2019 season. Gronk and former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady teamed up again in Tampa to win Super Bowl LV.

The 33-year old ends his career with four Super Bowl titles, five Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro honors.

Gronk played two seasons at Arizona (2008-09), Gronkowski played two seasons at Arizona, collecting 1,197 yards receiving on 75 catches with 16 touchdowns. He missed his junior season in 2010 due to back surgery.