I would think he did it because he is smart. He has been a great player during his career, and probably has little more that he needs to accomplish on the field. Rob Gronkowski is walking away from football. If you've seen Rob, you'd probably recognize the Gronkowski family on sight. The game-changing tight end announced his retirement from the NFL on Sunday, less than two months after his New England Patriots won Super Bowl 53. Rob Gronkowski did not commit to playing for the Patriots in 2018 after being asked about his retirement during a Super Bowl postgame press conference. "In the nine years that I have known Rob Gronkowski, I … by John Breech Gronkowski called Patriots owner Robert Kraft on Sunday to inform him of his decision to retire, a team source said. Rob Gronkowski, aka "Gronk," earned more than $53 million playing in the NFL for nine seasons, and being a smart saver helped him set up a healthy nest egg for retirement. This recent PFT Story leads me to think this is how Brady's Free Agency will end.. Yee and Brady, on the sly, meet with every interested team. Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski declining to deny a report that he might retire was the bombshell of Super Bowl Sunday, and there's reason to believe Gronk might actually call it quits. But according to a report on NFL Network, Gronkowski agreed to a deal with a … Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989), nicknamed "Gronk", is a former American football tight end who is a football analyst for Fox Sports. Rob Gronkowski announces his retirement from the NFL at 29. Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski declining to deny a report that he might retire was the bombshell of Super Bowl Sunday, and there's reason to believe Gronk might actually call it quits. In affiliation with CBS Sports a prime time special is announced for March 18th 8:00, knocking the regularly scheduled episode of Survivor back 30 minutes. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is no stranger to making headlines for his colorful antics, partying and comments, but this time Gronkowski is … He played his entire professional career for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) until his retirement in March 2019.