Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has decided to retire from football. But it won’t be a traditional retirement, because it’s clear that Gronk won’t be exiting the public eye any time soon.
So what will he do? The easy answer is, “Be Gronk.” The harder answer is how will he precisely do that? He could do a Gronk cruise a few times per year, rubbing elbows and drinking brewskis with Pats fans while also making big money for doing it. He could become a pitchman for all sorts of products. He could do paid appearances as Gronk, making any event instantly more fun with his mere presence.
He supposedly is interested in becoming a movie star. Even though he doesn’t seem to have the chops to be a legitimate actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger was hardly a master thespian in The Terminator, for which he uttered 17 mostly monosyllabic lines. (Also, plenty of movie starts aren’t exactly legitimate actors.)
Whatever Gronk does, he doesn’t need to do anything. He has said that he has never spent a dime of his football money, living exclusively on his endorsement deals. With a litany of injuries and concern regarding concussions that nearly resulted in him retiring a year ago, Gronkowski can move forward free from concern about periodic surgeries or other bumps and bruises that will make it harder for a guy who clearly loves live to love it as much as he possibly can.