In March, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski suggested that he’s not happy wth his current football contract. On Sunday, he decided to steer clear of the topic.
“No, I ain’t talking about that,” Gronkowski said Sunday at One Mission’s Buzz Off for Kids with Cancer, via Keith Pearson of the Boston Herald. “I’m all good. I’m happy.”
Gronkowski signed his current deal in 2012, after only two NFL seasons. The team picked up a $10 million option earlier this year, putting him under contract through 2019.
Said Gronk after the Patriots activated the option: “If ya think about it that Option pick up basically equals pay cut for the next 4 seasons.”
It was still smart for Gronkowski to do a long-term deal when he had the chance. A broken arm in 2012 that resulted in multiple surgeries and a torn ACL late in 2013 would have made it hard for him to get a huge deal on the open market after his rookie deal expired after the 2013 season.
He instead traded in the final two years of his first contract and a shot at the open market for financial security that has even more significance in light of the fact that, as he explained in his book from last year, he has never spent any of his football money, living instead off of endorsement deals.