Rob Gronkowski Retires A Patriot Press Conference

Rob Gronkowski Retires A Patriot Press Conference

Nancy, we’re retiring together. We’re smart. Okay, with that introduction, I say good afternoon everyone and today we’re going to celebrate one of the greatest ever to wear our Patriots uniform in Rob Gonkowski. His energy, talent, and infectious joy like we just saw lit up the stadium and inspired Patriots nations for nearly a decade. Like fans everywhere, I personally loved Gronk and I treasured the unforgettable moments we shared. In my opinion, he’s he’s actually one of a kind. I don’t think he’s ever had a bad day. And if there’s true there’s an afterlife, I think we’d all like to come back as Grank. Just a personal opinion. But next year, Grank becomes eligible for the Patriots Hall of Fame, and I’m pretty confident our fans will make him a first ballot suggestion. I had planned to include in his one-day contract. By the way, since we play the Jets tomorrow night, how about a two-day contract? Let’s do it. Okay, the signing bar. Nothing’s changed. Um, well, so this one-day contract in our ceremony today makes sure he officially retires a patriot. Uh, I had planned to do that when we did the ceremony, hopefully putting him in the Patriots Hall of Fame. We we would have done that contract then. And as we all know, his onfield dominance and clutch performances were legendary, and his larger than life personality and connections with the fan has truly made him a New England icon. A few months ago, Robert turned to Boston to help dedicate the playground he funded on the esplenade. At that event, a young lady by the name of Susan Hurley, a beloved friend of Rob and our organization, she was a former Patriots uh cheerleader and she had she had cancer unfortunately and was uh very ill with it. And one of her last requests right at the ceremony donating this playground, she asked that she said she wanted Rob to retire as a patriot. Um, and I think I’ve heard that from fans everywhere and I explained to them uh how we had planned to do it, but we decide to call an Audible because of Susan’s request and fulfill it right away and not make it part of that ceremony. Now, Grank still works on Sundays, so we chose our first prime time game to welcome him back and allow fans to show their appreciation for him. So, thank you, Susan. Although she won’t be with us physically, she’ll be with us spiritually, and we believe she’s in our presence now. So, on behalf of my family, the Patriots organization, fans everywhere, it’s my honor to welcome back number 87, our champion, Hall of Famer, and great great patriot Rob Gonowski. So, we should come and formalize an agreement. Uh, does anyone have any cash here? So, we get the signing bonus. Straight cash, no taxes. I’ll take a briefcase. Actually, I’ll just take the plane. You’re so understated. You guys can come with me. Awesome. Thank Thank you, Mr. Craft, for the kind and wonderful words. And uh this means a lot to me uh big time because uh I’m a I’m a New England Patriot. I’m a Patriot for life. Uh my career started here 100% needed to end here. There’s no doubt about that. I mean the whole Grank persona, everything about myself was all because of you guys, was all because of the fans here in New England, was all because of my teammates accepting me. um and and everyone else here, you know, just accepting who I was from the very beginning and embracing it and letting me just play the game of football out on the football field. And everything established about my football career began here um here in New England as a Patriot. So, it was an absolute no-brainer to come here and retire as a Patriot. And like Mr. Craft said, we had plans to do that. You know, typically, you know, if you’re going to go in the Patriots Hall of Fame, you know, crossing my fingers, it happens in the future. and signed the one-day deer that um the one-day deal there. But with the audible that Mr. Craft just talked about with the playground opening two months ago, which was very special to me because I actually when I first retired here as a patriot, I wanted to give back to the community. And that’s when that um idea to open the playground came about with Susan Hurley right there about a month after I retired. I said, “Hey, you know, I got the Grank Nation Youth Foundation. We we gained a lot of money into we we built up, you know, over a million dollars. Let’s give it now back to the city of Boston. And that’s when the idea first started. And now it’s all a full circle moment with it opening up. Took about five, six years, you know, with that progress to open it up because of all, you know, the contracts and all the bills that got to pass and all that nonsense. But it happened for the, you know, at the right time, uh, for the right reason. And then Susan, while we were there, you know, brought up, hey, uh, like Mr. Craft said, “I would love to see you retire as a Patriot.” And now we made that audible. And we are here today to do this one-day contract, which I think it’s very reasonable. I think it’s the the right play to do it as well today. And it couldn’t have been a better situation this week, Thursday Night Football versus the Jets tomorrow night. And to be back here in Foxboro is a blessing and an honor. And uh it’s always a privilege to come here. And it brings back so many so many memories, you know, throughout my career. Uh just seeing a couple guys, David Andrews, Brian Hoyer threw me my first touchdown pass, you know, when uh it wasn’t regular season game, it was a preseason game. Um and doesn’t matter, he got the ball, he got the ball rolling for me. Um he believed in me and then Tom saw that pass that he threw to me. So then Tom wanted to throw me some touchdowns the next game um in that Rams preseason game when I dragged Lauren Nitis five yards who’s the WWE champion at the time but I showed him that I’m here to drop some elbows but uh we got Jimbo over there still trainer man still the head trainer here I mean I gave him hell yeah but uh he’s still here to support me that’s why I love the guy and Nancy fell asleep all that all that um all that rumors out there about me taking the visit here it was on NY’s desk that I fell asleep sleep on and uh she’s retiring here this year and she’s a pager for life. Been here forever. So, it’s a full circle moment and seeing a lot of you familiar faces here uh as well. Mike Reese, you know, likes his Reesei pieces. That’s that’s our saying we’ve been saying for a long time. But, uh yeah, I appreciate the craft the Craft family, the Patriots Foundation, and just everyone here today for this wonderful opportunity. We’ll open up for a couple questions. Rod, what’s your vision for the statue out front? Oh. Oh. Uh, Tom statue. It’s beautiful. Yours? Yeah. Uh, no. Tom’s one of a kind. Like Tom I I don’t You’re throwing me on the spot like that. Uh, mind if he put one just put me in the end zone and me tiny because uh Tom is one of a kind, the greatest. He played for 20 plus years here. Um, I think that the only statue to to be deserved here is is Tom Brady. I mean, so I just will honor it and uh take pictures next to it. Rob, a moment like this obviously leads to reflection on moments in your playing career. What are some of the moments that stand out to you from your playing career here that mean the most to you? Uh well, I already talked about some of them um with Hoyer throwing me my my me my first touchdown pass, but uh winning my first Super Bowl here, you know, that was always the ultimate goal was to win a Super Bowl. And that first one will always be my favorite one. Uh and just the feeling and and the energy that came with it, you know, throughout that whole entire week after that will be a memory for life, the parade, the duck boats, all that. But winning that first Super Bowl versus a very, you know, solid Seattle Seahawks team when they were going for the repeat, uh, that memory will always, you know, be with me. And memories with the guys, the stories with the guys in the locker room, on the practice field, but the number one memory is is winning those Super Bowls big time. Frank, Susan was an incredible force. What was it like to have her as a friend and to be able to do this for her? Yes. Um, we are 100% here today for her. No doubt about that. and uh she just did such a great job uh just working and running a lot of people’s charities. Uh she founded charity teams in in 2008 and she works and runs a lot of people’s Boston Marathon bibs for their foundations and I’m talking over hundreds and she did it with ease. She did it with passion and when I first met her and she gave me the opportunity to get bibs to the Boston Marathon and uh and the opportunity to raise money for my foundation, I knew that she was the one. I didn’t talk to anyone else. I was like, “Wow, I never seen have anyone have so much passion and so much grace for, you know, what they want to do and and raise money for other charities.” And she had that and I knew that she was going to be special. And she did an excellent job uh when working with her for the 10 plus years that I I’d worked with her for. And she made it seamless. She made it easy. She ran all the activities, all the events. um and she will have a lasting impact forever, especially with um being the main engine of opening up the Grank playground. Rob, it it wasn’t always easy here in the eight seasons you were here, 2010 to 2018, is it interesting the way your career went and now looking back, reflecting how everything’s water under the bridge and maybe those tough times at different junctures ended up making your career more rewarding. Oh, you you hit that right on right on the nose, Tom. For sure. It definitely is more rewarding. And people ask like, “What was it like, you know, playing for the organization at that time?” Yes, it was tough. Uh, it really was. But I tell people all the time now when when I look back at it, like, I needed to be in that situation. Like, I needed it to be tough on me. Like, it made me who I am. It made me the player that I am. It made me come in every single day like uh to bring my best, you know, to the field. because if I didn’t, you know, the next guy was going to replace me and I felt that the next guy was going to replace me. And then also guys like Ninko would would right there would have it would have a fire under his engine. He’ll be bringing it to me in practice. So then I would have to amp up it even more and bring it to him and then all that good stuff. So it made me a better player, made me a better person uh big time, and it’s making life easier as well now. So it’s very rewarding to go through that stage, especially in your 20s. Um, and I needed that type of structure at that time, too. I was a maniac. We all know that when I was in my 20s. I definitely cleaned it up big time, you know, still a little bit, but um, not like what I was. I I was so such a freelance. And to have that structure in my life was what was helping me big time, you know, get to where I am today and who I am today as well. And, uh, those tough times are making, you know, work easy now. you know, whatever I do now, I’m like, “Wow, look what I did back then when I was 20. I can easily do what I got got in front of my, you know, on my plate now.” Rob, with um Patriots fans, it’s very clear that you’re still so loved here. The way they talk about you, it’s like you’re still on the field almost. Uh just what’s it like to have so much love from Patriots Nation just throughout your entire playing career and even now after? Yeah, it’s it’s really special and and I do get a lot of love. I really do. And uh if it’s on the plane coming back, if it’s walking my dog, uh you know, if it’s just going to the grocery market, I I get a lot of love um from a lot of fans here in New England. And I appreciate that. And that’s also what’s making this moment very special. I mean, uh just literally in the last two days, a lot of people just congratulated me for this moment right here and how happy they were. I swear they were more happy for me than I was coming in here today. And like I said earlier, I appreciate the fans accepting me of who I was. I mean, it kind of made the persona uh very natural. It really did. And I was give credit to the fans. It wasn’t like I had to do anything special out there. I was being myself and they just took who I was, you know, and they blew it up to a whole another level. Like the Grank spike, like I always wanted to spike a football and then I spiked it and then they just took it to a whole another level. Like the Grank spike’s the greatest thing ever. I’m like I just was spiking, you know? Like and the the fans here in New England just made it so great. like uh me doing silly things off the field like they didn’t care. They’re like, “Oh, that’s Gron.” Like I got a free pass because of the fans accepting everything, which was great. You know, so I appreciate everything and I appreciate the love from the fans and uh always want to give love back whenever I can. You might be a little biased, but I was wondering how you think the 2025 team will do and how you think Vable’s doing leading the team. Yes. Uh the 2025 team is doing spectacular. I mean, they’re blowing it out of the water compared to what everyone thought they were going to be. I mean, we all knew it was going to be a big improvement here. I I said at beginning of the year because I’m such a great analyst now, guys, that the the Patriots were going to make the playoffs, but as a wild card team and they were going to come in second place in the division, but as my great analyst skills, I think I think they’re going to be wrong this year. You know, we’re on track to win the division. Um, you know, knock on wood. um and on track to not just get a wild card seed, but you know to get a good good seating in in the top four. Um which makes it a special year here. And what I really like about these Patriots is that uh they’re not losing focus this year. You know, every single week they’re getting better as a team and they’re correcting their mistakes, you know, from the prior week as well. And they’re finding ways to have more explosiveness on the offense as well. And I would say that’s due to Josh McDaniels. And that’s why when you know being an analyst I was last year on Fox I said hey Josh McDaniels would be a great fit here and they ended up hiring him. Um and just to see him take his guys to the next level the guys on the offense to the next level. You know I would say he it contributes to how good of a coach he is and how he can put the players and know his talent in the right position as well. Opportunity to come back to Gillette and interview Drake for a Fox segment. What um impression did you come away with? Yes, I did. Um, which was very special because I got to go to RKK’s uh, you know, office then when I came back. So, it’s the second time we get to meet again here at Gillette Stadium in the last three weeks. But, uh, yeah, I did a sit down interview with Drake May uh, which was special. And, um, what I really loved about him is his IQ and his intelligence for the game of football. You know, when we were just talking football and I was an asking him questions and and the way he respected the guys that were before him, too. Obviously, you’re coming after Tom Brady. You’re always going to be be compared to Tom Brady. But the way he answered the questions, showed his respect, but also knew that it’s his time and that he’s got to do what he’s got to do. You know, you appreciate that type of answer. You appreciate that type of honesty and humbleness as well. And he had that and the intelligence he had for the game of football. We were talking plays and I was saying plays that were, you know, the the name of the play when I was there with McDaniels and the now the name has totally changed and he not just knew my play the play when it was named our the the terminology of when it was my my era, but he also knew the terminology that it was of his era too. So to know both and just know what I was doing on the play call that I said to him was just pretty impressive. So that’s when you know he has a high football IQ and that’s what you need at the quarterback position. Now that you retired a patriot, are you going to say something to Tom? Should he retire Patriot, too? Uh, we all know Tom’s a Patriot for life. He’s got the statue. We he he probably did sign a one-day contract um whatever. Um whenever at the um retirement when uh when he went in uh in his first year being retired into the Patriots Hall of Fame. So, uh I’m sure I mean that Tom did sign it. I’m not sure if he did, but he doesn’t even need to sign one. guys in the Hall of Fame statue, the greatest of all time. So, uh, it it’s just an honor to be able to, you know, say I played my whole entire career with him as well. What do you see that this current team has that you think is special or maybe something that you guys had that made you so special? Uh, they’re playing together as a team. And, uh, the Patriots right now, like when you play together as a team and come together as a team, you necessarily don’t need that big- time playmaker. And that’s what everyone was saying at the beginning of the year. And that’s what everyone said with us at beginning of the year as well. Oh, we need that explosive guy. We need to trade for a number one wide receiver. Uh blah blah blah. But it doesn’t matter when you got a group of guys that are in it with each other and know how to, you know, have that chemistry and work with each other and have the same timing on every single play and know where to be and trust in each other. Well, then that’s what makes a great team. And uh that’s where it’s very similar to the teams that we had in the past too is we sometimes we didn’t have a number one you know guy but everyone was a number one guy and everyone expected to get the ball and everyone trusted in each other and I see the similarities you know this year um with the Patriots as to you know our successful years when when I was here in that era. Tomorrow night can you just comment on what’s going to be happening at the game with you? Yes. So um I’ll be keeper of the light. I’ll be ringing the bell um in the lighthouse at the beginning of the game um which is going to be special. Never done that before. And actually I never been to a game yet with um the keeper of the light bell here. So uh that’s going to be really cool um to be able to participate in that. Um and then at halftime as well just going to be able to address the crowd and then introduce the halftime performance uh performance which is Low Cash, their country band singer. And I I’ve known them for a couple years now. So, when I heard that it was them, I was like, “This is going to be a special uh moment uh big time.” And I got Camille here as well. And another story with my antics, you know, we weren’t supposed to talk to the cheerleaders, you know, but I I gave my number to Camille, you know, back in the day. And, you know, I you know, I bypassed the rules once again cuz that’s what that’s what I do. I don’t think it was your rule. I just think it was my role. Yeah, it was your rule. You’re right. It wasn’t my rule. So that there’s there’s my antics right there. But uh Camille was a cheerleader, so I want to see some of her cheering skills tomorrow as well. I will be cheering on the future as always. And and and speaking of it, so Susan Hurley was a cheerleader back in the day, too. So I just have something for cheerleaders, I guess. Cra, we’ve seen so much expansion of the NFL uh into international waters such as Brazil, Spain, and a bunch of other countries. um what excites you most about seeing football grow in those international places and knowing that you have a bunch of ground fans not only in New England but globally. Yes. Um it’s great that the NFL is expanding into other countries. I mean, I would have to say that has to be due to the owners. Um, especially participating with conversations with uh Roger Goodell, the commissioner, because he has the control and in order to expand the NFL, I mean, I feel like we maxed out here in the United States of America, but to to make it even bigger, go globally. And I think it’s great for the game, it’s great for the players. Um, it’s great for the players, you know, um, individually as well to, you know, grow their um, I would say grow their brand, uh, too. And uh I would say though not get too big cuz I like going over to Europe and going to other countries where no one knows who I am and just being being a freelance and doing whatever I want to do and no fans coming up to me. But overall it’s great for the game of football. And I would just say uh to make it easier uh on the players is just to find the logistics to make the travel easier going over those seas, you know, going overseas because the times don’t change, you know, playing at 6:00 a.m. and all that. just find the best ways possible to make sure the players are ready to go and give them enough time to recover after that game as well um after you play, you know, in a different country. Rob, you played for you played for one head coach during your time here in New England and you talked a little bit earlier about how it wasn’t always easy to play here and he was a big part of that, but when you reflect on, you know, your relationship and your time with Bill Bich, you know, what are your reflections on playing for him and the impact he made on your career? Yeah, coach made a huge impact on my career. I mean, I wouldn’t be here without this organization, without coach, you know, Vrabel, without my teammates, uh, without RKK, you know, without anyone that I had I had tenure time here with and spent some quality time with here in the organization. But coach um you know Bichc what what’s one thing he truly taught me is preparation and how to prepare for games and how to prepare for the upcoming Sunday you know versus whoever you’re going against and prepare if it’s a terrible team you’re facing if they’re 0 and 10 or prepare the same way as if they’re 10 and 0 as well and always be ready for any situation and I’m implying that into my life as well big time I mean if I prepare you know going up you know going into Fox on Sunday, I feel like I have a good day. If I, you know, slack off a little bit, I think it makes a little bit harder. So, always be preparing um and bring your best stuff. And then being able to adjust on the fly as well. Coach Bich was so good at that. Um being able to adjust, put us in the best situations to be able to succeed. Um and just the way he coached us as well to be the best possible player that you could possibly be. You know, if it was in the meeting rooms calling you out, you know, and I see the reasoning behind it. Sometimes you would get a little disappointed, you get a little frustrated getting called out, but now I look back at that now too and I appreciate, you know, him coaching me hard, him him being hard on me, you know, and I definitely sometimes maybe took it for granted, but definitely look back now and I appreciate all those situations that he put me in, if it was easy or hard. Rob, how would you describe the camaraderie after football with your Fox colleagues, Tom and Julian? Yeah, it’s great. I mean, a lot of players struggle after the game of football to find that locker room feel and u definitely lucky to still have that feel a little bit. It’ll never be like, you know, the playing days in the NFL, but to have Tom and Julian as well at Fox. I mean, it it makes you kick back your feet, you know, sit back and relax and be comfortable more. Uh to have Julian on the on the kickoff show, um you know, there we do segments all the time together. when Tom’s in town doing a game in LA or something, he comes on our show too or we ask him a question on the screen. Uh it it makes it, you know, more lovable. It makes you feel more comfortable as well that we’re all there together because we all understand each other. We all understand the way, you know, we we process football. We understand the way that we we have football knowledge and and we know how to work together as well. So, it’s great. I love I love that we’re all there together. The best catch you ever made. Final question, guys. What was the best catch you ever made? That’s a great question to hang on, baby. Right there, Tom. Wow. I would say um the greatest catch I’ve made. I mean, I would have to go with one of my one-handers. There’s so many I can’t even think of what one. Yeah. Buffalo one. Yeah, the Buffalo one. And the Denver one. Well, the Buffalo one was they’re like tied to me because it was verse Buffalo, my hometown team. I always love to stick it to them. Uh, and it was on the sidelines versus all pro safety and Tom threw it back and I totapped both feet and I brought it in. But the Denver one was pretty special, too, because I caught it with my broken forearm. It was broken at the time, too, still. And no, it wasn’t, but sound good. But, uh, I had the cast on it. He threw it backwards. There was It was a team meeting. You’re not supposed to throw the ball in a team meeting. I mean, that’s what Coach Belich said all the time, but Tom did not listen this time. Threw it up there and I just turned around and just onehanded and brought it in. And uh what made it special is I just lined up out wide on the very next play. See, this is great being back here. All the memories are just flowing. Like you don’t think about these memories when you’re just sitting at home, but being back here in the building, they’re all coming back. And then uh I I caught on the two yard line the very next play. Josh McDaniels know Josh McDaniels knows when to call your number again. He knows when you’re on fire. He knows when you’re tired. Uh he could tell from practice and all that. Uh just like in the Super Bowl, actually my very last catch in the Super Bowl, I swear he saw me he saw me open on the seam. We called the same exact play um on that 28 yard catch to bring it to the two- yard line and then we scored the very next play with Sony Michelle. Uh it was only touchdown of the game, but I ran the seam and I was open and I I was literally came back to the huddle. I was like, “All right, two seams in a row. I got like basically my broken quad, but I was like McDaniels is going to call it again because I know he knows I was open. He knows I can get open again. Literally get to the huddle, same exact play. I go, “This one’s coming to me 100%.” And uh run the route. Tom throws me the bomb, catch it to the two yardd line. Um and then we score the very next play for the only touchdown of the game. So that was special. But the one the one play Denver, the one-hander there, and then going out wide versus Mont Miller and running the slant route and for the touchdown, the very next play. Yes. Thank you guys. Thank you all for being here today. We get a picture of anybody.

On Wednesday, November 12 at 12:15 PM, Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski will sign a one-day contract and officially retire as a member of the New England Patriots. Gronk was drafted by the Patriots in 2010 and spent 9 seasons in New England where him and Tom Brady became one of the best quarterback-tight end duos in NFL history.

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