Retirement rumors floated after Super Bowl 52 that Rob Gronkowski was considering walking away from football for contract reasons.
Mike Florio was the one to speculate those rumors last winter. According to Florio, before Sunday's matchup in Tennessee, Gronkowski may retire after this season if he does not get a new contract offer from the Patriots.
Gronkowski restructured his contract for this season with incentive-based rewards. It is hard to see the All-Pro tight end reach those statistical marks this season after missing multiple games already this year.
I think if the Patriots had won the Super Bowl he would have retired. And I think after this season, which has been very disappointing for him and it is his second straight year with a significant incentive package that we’re probably close to saying he’s not going to hit any of the four markers which each make him $1.1 million and he can make a maximum of $3.3 million that way.
Gronkowski also reportedly threatened retirement to stop a trade to the Detroit Lions, pledging loyalty to Tom Brady.
As one of the best and most important offensive players the Patriots have had over the past few years, Gronkowski will force the franchise to make a decision on him sooner rather than later.
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