Two weeks after they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski still has yet to decide on his next move. According to Pro Football Talk, Gronkowski is still pondering his next move: whether to play next season, retire for good or join the WWE. The Gronkowski' retirement plan became the focus of the Super Bowl LII post-game press conference when it was raised by several reporters. Two weeks after the press conference, Gronkowski has yet to come up with a solid decision. Based on his sources, Jeff Darlington of ESPN reported that Gronkowski was leaning towards retirement even before the AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
During that game, Gronkowski suffered a concussion after he was hit hard on the head. According to Darlington, the concussion suffered by Gronkowski might have contributed to his decision to contemplate retirement. While the tight end returned to play in Super Bowl LII, he had a hard time passing the NFL concussion protocol.
Gronkowski has had several injuries
Before he was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Gronkowski suffered several serious injuries during his playing days at Arizona. In his junior year, the tigh end underwent a season-ending back surgery to remove a bulging disk. Early in his NFL career, Gronkowski suffered a broken forearm in 2012 and a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee the following year.
In 2016, Gronkowski underwent surgery due to a herniated disk. These injuries caused Gronkowski to miss 30 games in his career. Last season, the tight end tallied 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns. In his career, Gronkowski has 474 catches for 7,179 yards and 76 touchdowns for the Patriots.
Gronk using retirement talk as leverage
Many are speculating that Gronkowski is floating the possibility of retirement to get a contract extension or a reworked deal from the Patriots. The tight end has two years remaining on the six-year, $54 million extension that he signed in 2012, making him the highest-paid tight end with a $10.25 million salary.
However, Darlington said that Gronkowski’s retirement plan could be seen as leverage. It was reported that the WWE has offered the tight end a contract similar to what former UFC champion Ronda Rousey signed. Also, some movie stars are convincing Gronkowski to leave his NFL career and pursue a career as an actor.
