Rob Gronkowski Is Winning Big at Life

The world runs on Gronk. It’s why he might end up being the most popular football player of all time.

Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any stranger, Gronk said, “Hold my beer.” Rob Gronkowski unretired to join his good buddy Tom Brady in Florida. The former New England Patriots and future Hall of Famers put the band back together as Buccaneers, giving hope to pirates and underdogs everywhere.

Who knew the “New Normal” really would mean justice for all? Not Dick Vitale. Not Las Vegas. Not even the ghost of John McKay. The Bucs got championship pedigrees in the building, and they turned that promise into a Lombardi Trophy on the field.

Gronk already was an NFL legend with mass appeal, and his star keeps rising. He announced his retirement from the NFL (again) in June 2022. Whether he plays another down or not, he will end up being one the most popular football players of all time.

Don’t believe us? Here are the facts.

He Impressed Bill Belichick.

NBCSBoston / Twitter

Bill Belichick is not Mr. Chuckles when it comes to football, and Rob Gronkowski made an interesting first impression on the Patriots’ head coach in 2010.

“Rob was kind of a shot in the dark,” Belichick recalled. “He came up on his pre-draft visit, had a bad visit. We put him in a room, came back and he was asleep on the floor, didn’t make a very good impression. We brought him in, we were getting ready to have a meeting with the coaches and go through and then he fell asleep on the floor — like, ‘Oh, boy!’ We got a slow start there.”

You gotta be some kind of talent for Belichick to stay interested after that. Gronkowski only played two college seasons at Arizona and missed his junior year due to back surgery, but the Patriots liked enough of what they saw to make a move.

“We traded up for him and just kind of bet that he would come through, and he certainly did big time.”

Gronkowski became a legend after the Patriots got him in the second round of the 2010 draft with the 42nd overall pick.

On top of that, Gronkowski even may have beaten Belichick at his own game to leave New England.

Gronk Is One of the All-Time Greats.

Winslow Townson / AP Photo

Rob Gronkowski has maximized his talent to become one of the best tight ends to ever play football.

In his first nine NFL seasons, he caught 521 passes for 7,861 receiving yards and 79 touchdowns in 115 games. That’s an average of 4.5 catches per game, 68.4 receiving yards per game, and 15.1 yards per catch.

He’s been better in the postseason, catching 81 passes for 1,163 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first 16 playoff games (5.1 catches per game, 72.7 receiving yards per game, 14.4 yards per catch) and winning three Super Bowls.

You Might Even Call Him the GOAT.

Ashley Landis / AP Photo

In his first season with the Buccaneers, Gronkowski played in 16 games, caught 45 passes for 623 yards and seven touchdowns. Or 2.8 catches per game, 38.9 receiving yards per game and 13.8 yards per catch.

Gronk was even better in his first postseason with the Bucs. He played in four games, caught eight passes for 110 yards, two touchdowns, and won another Super Bowl. And six of those eight receptions and the “two tuddies” came against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, a 31-9 Tampa Bay victory.

“We brought the ship home,” Gronkowski said on Twitter. “And all the other boats came to celebrate. Much love Tampa Bay. Keep those flags raised, baby!!”

For anyone keeping score at home, that’s 89 catches,1,273 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in 20 playoff games for Rob Gronkowski. And four Super Bowl rings.

He played two more playoff games after the 2021 NFL season and added nine receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown. So his career postseason numbers are 98 catches, 1,389 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in 22 playoff games.

He’s a Physical Freak of Nature.

David Zalubowski / AP Photo

Beast. Monster. Unstoppable. Gronkowski has been called all of those things. For good reason.

At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, he can run a 4.68 40, catch anything in his zip code and dominate as a blocker. He’s a mack truck with hands who can wreak havoc.

Brady is key to Tampa Bay’s success, but a quarterback needs weapons and protection, and there has never been a player like Gronk.

He’s Also a Spiking Machine.

Steven Senne / AP Photo

That’s what happens when you score a lot. You get a lot of opportunities to celebrate.

Gronkowski is the only tight end to lead the NFL in touchdown receptions, with 17 in 2011, and owns almost every NFL postseason record for a tight end.

His success is no accident. He works hard at his craft.

He May Have Found a New Secret Weapon.

Jared Wickerham / AP Photo

Injuries have been one of the few opponents that can slow down Gronkowski. In his first NFL go-round, he played a full 16-game season only twice (in 2010 and 2011) and missed 29 games.

In 2019, Gronkowski stirred some controversy when he said he cured his CTE, but he takes his health seriously and spent his year away from the game healing his mind and body.

He credits cannabidiol (CBD) oil, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis plants, for helping him get pain-free. He supports players being allowed to use CBD for pain management and agreed to an endorsement deal with CBD manufacturer Abacus CBD Health Products.

Superman might not be able to become immune to Kryptonite, but Gronk could end up being the athlete that pulls CBD into the mainstream. And a healthy, recharged Gronk is bad news for NFL defenders. Just like a living Thanos was bad news for the Avengers.

Gronk Is a Workout Warrior and Natural Born Hustler.

GronkFitness / Facebook

Rob Gronkowski’s estimated net worth is $45 million, and he likes to lift heavy things, but don’t let the bro persona fool you. He appreciates the science of personal fitness.

Gronk joined forces with his dad and four brothers to create Gronk Fitness, which is based in Buffalo, New York, and sells strength, cardio and aerobic equipment, along with fitness gear. They give away the knowledge for free.

They are here to pump you up, and if you don’t get your mind right, it could be a long day.

He Comes From a Family of Athletes.

gronk / Instagram

Rob Gronkowski was born on May 14, 1989, in Amherst, New York, raised in Williamsville, and spent his senior year of high school in suburban Pittsburgh. He is the second youngest son of Gordon Gronkowski and Diane Walter (who divorced in 2008) and was built to play sports.

His dad played football for Syracuse and had his own successful fitness brand before Gronk Fitness. Rob’s other four brothers also played pro sports. Three brothers played in the NFL: Chris, Glenn and Dan. His oldest brother, Gordie, played Major League Baseball.

Hi, Mom.

Today / YouTube

Rob Gronkowski’s mom, Diane, did a great job raising five boys. Her little Rob is all grown up, but she still has a request for him.

“The thing I want Rob to learn from Tom Brady is to say, ‘Hi, Mom,'” Diane told the TODAY show in 2019. “It’s been nine years after every interview at the end of the game, and Tom Brady says, ‘Hi, Mom. Hi, Mom.’ And every once in a while, I see Rob up there at an interview, and I’m like, ‘OK, he’s going to say, ‘Hi, Mom.” And they’re like, ‘OK, thanks, Rob.’ And he’s like, ‘OK, thanks.’ And he walks away. I’m like, ‘Where’s the ‘Hi, Mom’? Right? Tom, c’mon, you need to teach that to Rob.”

Maybe Rob will say hi to mom in Tampa Bay? She might even cook his favorite homemade meal, Chicken Sue Flay.

Gronk Is Marketable From Wall Street to Main Street.

toshajean / Twitter

Gronk knows how to sell. He got the entrepreneurial gene from his dad and has been a pitchman for Nike, Dunkin’ Donuts, Visa, T-Mobile, Tide, JetBlue, Cheerios, DraftKings, and many other companies and brands.

Whether it’s in print, on television or online, Gronk knows how to connect with audiences and always is a big hit.

He’s also been an analyst and appeared on TV shows like “Family Guy” (as an animated version of himself) and movies like “Entourage” (in a cameo).

He Was the WWE 24/7 Champion.

Phelan M. Ebenhac / AP Images for WWE

Rob Gronkowski became the WWE 24/7 champion in April 2020.

Anyone could take that title from Gronk anytime, anywhere. So he had to be ready. And he was.

Until Gronk lost his 24/7 title to R-Truth a few months later. It was a good reign.

‘Yo Soy Fiesta.’

VanBurenBoysWDL / Twitter

That’s Spanish for “I am party.” And ever since Gronk uttered those words during an ESPN Deportes interview in 2012, he’s been the life of the party wherever he goes.

His Gronk Nation, L.L.C., trademarked the “Yo Soy Fiesta” phrase, along with some other phrases and images, in a savvy move, and he turned it into a party bus business.

Gronk once said partying made him a better player. “It makes you get that itch to go back out,” he told “CBS This Morning” in 2015. “You go out and get refreshed, and it just makes you want to go back out on that practice field and keep going hard.”

It’s good to be Gronk. Which also happens to be the title of his book.

He’s Got a Big Heart.

Gronk Nation Youth Foundation

Gronkowski understands the power of his platform and uses it to give back. He created Gronk Nation Youth Foundation to “help kids stay actively involved in school and sports and provide them with the tools needed to help them follow their dreams and live a happy and more successful life.”

He also is generous with his time and resources with other charities and philanthropic initiatives, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, One Mission Buzz Off and Patriots Foundation (when he played in New England).

In 2020, Gronkowski and his girlfriend Camille Kostek donated 10,000 masks each to the Boston Medical Center and St Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in New Jersey to help medical personnel during the coronavirus outbreak.

His Better Half Also Shines.

camillekostek / Instagram

Gronkowski has been in a relationship with Camille Kostek since 2015. His longtime girlfriend is a model who was born in Killingworth, Connecticut, and majored in communications with a minor in business at Eastern Connecticut State University.

She has appeared in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue and landed a solo cover with the magazine in 2019, making the big guy proud. In 2020, she and Gonkowski starred in a music video for “I’ll Wait,” a song by Kygo with vocals by Sasha Sloan.

They lived together in Foxborough, Massachusetts, before it was on to Tampa Bay.

This Is the Real Tiger King.

gronk / Instagram

Forget Tony. And move over, eccentric Netflix characters. There’s a new big cat in town.

Gronk showed off his singing and dancing moves as the “White Tiger” on the “The Masked Singer” in 2020.

The show premiered on Feb. 2 after Super Bowl LIV, and Gronk was a big, charismatic hit throughout its third season.

Everyone Loves Gronk.

AdamSchefter / Twitter

Well, almost everyone.

Steve Harvey isn’t a big fan after Gronk spiked Harvey’s LEGO head on national television on New Year’s Eve.

Some of New England also might be mad at him. The two greatest players in Patriots history went to the Buccaneers for a fourth-round pick.

You, Too, Can Learn the Way of the Gronk.

Steve Luciano / AP Photo

But it’s hard to stay mad at Rob Gronkowski, who loves life and is living one for the ages.

So if you need life advice, ask Gronk what your next move should be.

Don’t let the caveman act fool you. He’s playing chess.