Rob Gronkowski: Age, height, weight, marriage, personal life, career

Rob Gronkowski is a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Early life

Robert James Gronkowski was born on May 14, 1989, in Amherst, New York, and raised in Williamsville. He is the second youngest son of Gordon Gronkowski and Diane Walters, and his father is of Polish origin. His father was a former Syracuse University college football guard from 1977 to 1981. He later created a high-end fitness equipment company.

Gronkowski is the great-grandson of Ignatius Gronkowski, who competed in cycling for the United States at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and set five world records in the sport. In 2008, Gronkowski’s parents split. His four brothers — Gordie, Dan, Chris, and Glenn – were all collegiate athletes who went on to play professionally.

Gronkowski played hockey until he was 14 years old, at which point he switched to basketball. He spent his first three years of high school at Williamsville North High School, where he played tight end and defensive end (as well as freshman kickoff specialist due to having the widest feet on the squad), centre in basketball, and first baseman in baseball for the Spartans athletic teams.

As a junior, Gronkowski had 36 receptions for 648 yards and seven touchdowns on offence, as well as 73 tackles and six sacks on defence. He was chosen to the All-Western New York first team and the All-State second team. Gronkowski was a member of the National Honor Society, with math being his strongest subject and English being his weakest.

Gronkowski moved to Pittsburgh’s suburbs in 2006, where he finished his senior year at Woodland Hills High School. He was initially deemed ineligible by the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League due to his transfer, but after the judgement was overturned, he tallied eight receptions for 152 yards and four touchdowns at Woodland Hills.

Gronkowski was a SuperPrep All-American, a PrepStar All-American, an Associated Press Class 4-A all-state selection, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Fabulous 22,” a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first-team all-conference selection, a Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) “Platinum 33,” and a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review “Terrific 25.” Kentucky, Arizona, Clemson, Louisville, Maryland, Ohio State, and Syracuse were all interested in him.

Gronkowski graduated from Woodland Hills in 2007 with a 3.75 GPA and a SAT score of 1560 out of 2400.

Career

Gronkowski attended the University of Arizona, where he earned multiple honours, including being named a Sporting News and Rivals.com Freshman All-American. Despite just having two collegiate seasons under his belt, his 18.8 yards per reception average and 1,197 receiving yards set a team record for his position. After missing his junior year due to back surgery, the Patriots selected Gronkowski with the 42nd pick in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Gronkowski has set a number of NFL records, including being the first player in his position to lead the league in receiving touchdowns (17 in 2011). He also has the most career postseason receiving yards by a tight end (1,163) and is the first tight end in NFL history to receive 1,000 yards or more in the playoffs.

He has 14 career playoff receiving touchdowns, as well as the most combined receptions (23) and receiving yards (297) by a tight end in Super Bowl history. Gronkowski leads tight ends in average receiving yards per game (68.3), average yards per target (9.9), and average touchdowns per game (0.69).

Awards and Recognition

• 4× Super Bowl champion (XLIX, LI, LIII, LV)
• NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2014)
• 4× First-team All-Pro (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017)
• 5× Pro Bowl (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017)
• NFL receiving touchdowns leader (2011)
• NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
• NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
• First-team All-Pac-10 (2008)
• Third-team All-American (2008)

NFL records

• Most touchdowns in a season by a tight end (17)
• Most career touchdowns in the postseason by a tight end (14)

Personal life

Gronkowski has been in a relationship with model Camille Kostek since 2015. They initially met at a Patriots charity event. They split their time between Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Tampa, Florida. They share a French Bulldog named Ralphie.

Throughout his football career, Gronkowski has not spent any of the money he has earned through NFL contracts, instead of relying only on the profits from his business enterprises, endorsement deals, and appearance fees.

Gronkowski is one of the most popular players in football, with a larger-than-life presence both on and off the field. With his various exploits and awards, he is recognised as one of his era’s best players, one of the best blocking tight ends of all time, and probably the greatest tight end to ever play the game.

Net worth and endorsements

Nike, Dunkin’ Donuts, Visa, T-Mobile, Tide, Lyft, JetBlue, Zynga, Cheerios, Oberto, SixStar Pro, Bodyarmor SuperDrink, DraftKings, Kids Footlocker, and video games Mobile Strike and Halo, among others, have used Gronkowski in print, television, and internet commercials.

PLB Sports began producing “Gronk Flakes,” a frosted cornflakes breakfast cereal named after and sponsored by Gronkowski, in 2012. PLB Sports produced “Gronk’s Hot Sauce” in 2015, following the success of the cereals. Gronkowski and Monster Energy produced a signature “Gronk” beverage the following year, which was sold by Coca-Cola.

Gronkowski has participated in multiple Tide commercials, including one for Super Bowl LI. He was a Tide Pods endorser, and as a result, he collaborated with the brand in a public service announcement discouraging children and teens from eating the laundry detergent pods following a viral internet challenge in 2017–18.

Read more: Aaron Rodgers: Age, height, weight, secret engagement, personal life, career