The 33-year-old retired in June 2022, but at the time, even his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, didn’t believe Gronk hung up his spikes for good. Despite reports of a possible return, the tight end sat out the entire 2022 campaign.
Given that he retired and sat out all of 2019 before returning with the Bucs for another Super Bowl run, the possibility that Gronkowski could return again lingered, albeit less so since Tom Brady’s most recent retirement.
Still, Gronk insists he’s done with pro football.
“I actually picked up pickleball,” he said. “I beat my brother, Chris, who plays with pros, and my other brother, Gordon, who plays with pros too! And I beat ’em with an average Joe — my other brother, Glenn G., was my partner!
“So, I’m happily retired. I’m still competing, I’m still winning, so I don’t even need to go back to football.”