4th And South Exclusive Interview with Rob Gronkowski

We got the boy Robbie G on the pod. The legend. He’s a five-time Pro Bowler, four-time First Team All-Pro selection, four-time Super Bowl champion, member of the 2010 All-Decade team, NFL 100th Anniversary Team honoree, led the league in touchdowns in 2017, 2nd round draft pick, 42nd overall in 2010 out of Arizona.

Gronk joined us and opened up about everything from his bitter draft night to the Bucs’ Super Bowl run, the locker room chemistry in Tampa, earning Brady’s trust, the Myles Jack play, his legendary partying, keeping his NFL money untouched, and plenty more.

Gronk’s Accolades & Impact

We started by reading Gronk’s full résumé back to him and asked what it felt like hearing that now that he’s retired.

When you hear all of that, how does that make you feel?

It’s been a while, man.

That’s nice to hear, you know? It is. But when you’re playing, you don’t really want to hear those accolades.

You’re just trying to get by that day, get through that day, get better that week and be the best player and teammate you can be on a weekly basis.

But now that you’re done, a couple years out, it’s like yeah, praise me baby. That’s what it’s all about.

It’s cool to just get refreshed about it and it’s a good feeling.

It’s cool to know I did make a huge impact, because you don’t really notice that impact that you made on the NFL.

Because like I said, it’s a weekly game and you’re fighting for your job every single day.

You don’t really see or feel that impact until you’re out of the league. I just felt that impact right there.

Gronk’s Angry NFL Draft Night

The conversation turned to draft night: a moment that still sticks with Gronk’s mother to this day.

Can you tell us about your draft experience, especially after going in the 2nd Round?

I was bitter. It was the only time in my life where my mom looked at me like, “I never seen you mad before.”

She can recall two times and she always brings up this moment.

I went to the draft actually. I was one of the invites to go to New York City and it was the first year ever where they were like, “We’re going to invite guys out of the top 10.” They wanted like 20, 30 guys there even if they go second round.

So my claim to fame is that I was the first guy ever to be in New York City to get drafted in the second round.

There’s a couple guys after me at least. At least I wasn’t one of the last ones. That would have hurt a little bit.

I sat there all through the first round and I went second round the next day after and I celebrated like I was a wild maniac.

But my mom saw that tense feeling in me, the disappointment that I didn’t go first round.

Jermaine Gresham was the first round tight end that year when he went to Cincinnati. I had a feeling he was going to go there because I tried out for Cincinnati. I had a little private workout for them.

They kind of let me know they were going to lean more towards Jermaine unless I really impressed them, which I thought I did. I had a good workout.

I was kind of bitter. And my mom still says to this day, that was one of the only two times that she saw me mad.

But then when I got drafted in the second round to the New England Patriots, let me tell you, it didn’t matter what round you went, what pick you went. It was just the best feeling to get drafted and have your lifelong dream finally come true.

The Hands: A Gift From Dad

We asked Gronk about his legendary catching ability, which is something that’s been there since day one.

Your hands have never failed you. Was that something natural or developed?

My dad actually loved working on our hand-eye coordination growing up.

We would be in the backyard and he’d hit tennis balls at us and we would have to catch them. He would just rapid fire them.

And when you can work on that skill set as a kid, I feel like once you get it, you maintain that through the rest of your life.

That’s why I believe with sports like soccer, hockey, and basketball – you got to play that since you’re a kid. You got to start training for that and playing full speed.

With football, I gained that skill set as a kid because of those drills, and I just had it naturally as well.

I still have it. I’ll never lose that.

Like, if Tom and I are on Fox and it’s a segment where he throws me a ball on screen from one side to the other side of the field on the pregame show, I’ll just snatch that ball out of midair like it’s nothing.

It’ll always be there.

Inside the Bucs Super Bowl Run

We then moved on to his Tampa Bay years and the magic of that 2020 Super Bowl run with the Buccaneers.

How did that team come together?

That was one of the best runs I’ve ever been a part of throughout my NFL career. And it was a different style run, too, because we all came together late in that season.

The team was put together throughout the offseason, then you came during training camp and everyone was still trying to figure it out. We had some good games, we had some bad games, and then we went on a bye week.

When we came back from that bye week, everyone started clicking with each other and everyone understood their assignment. Everyone knew how each other’s skill sets worked together and how to work off of each other.

We went undefeated from there. Won eight in a row – four of the last regular season games to get into the playoffs and then four playoff games in a row, all on the road.

We were rewarded by winning all those games on the road by having the Super Bowl in our own stadium in Tampa Bay, which was the first time a team won a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

And I remember playoff Lenny, dude. You just turned it up another notch. That’s how you win championship games – you can have a solid regular season or a little down regular season, but it’s when you play your best football late in the season. And that’s what we did.

Lenny turned it up to another level. It was like seeing Lenny at LSU again. No one could tackle him. It just eliminates all the negatives if you had them throughout the season, if you turn it up in the playoffs.

Did you see Lenny struggling with that transition?

I saw you struggling with that at first because you’ve been a number one your whole career, man. No doubt about it.

What you did at LSU – you’re a number four draft pick overall. That’s basically being number one overall if you’re top five.

But there’s always going to be a situation in the NFL where you’re not going to be the number one. I feel like that was your first time being the number two. So you really didn’t know how to handle that situation.

But what’s huge is you had some down weeks because of it, but you bounced back. You understood, hey, I got to be the best player I can be when my opportunity comes.

That’s what you did, man. That’s why you were playoff Lenny – stepping up, taking that attitude of “I’m number two” and showing that when my number is called, I’m going to step up. That’s what you did in the playoffs. That’s why we handed you the ball non-stop in the playoffs, baby.

When did you know you were going to beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl?

I kind of felt like we were going to handle them pretty well throughout the process of the week.

Our game plan was solid. And what I loved about it is that we had total confidence in it.

It wasn’t like we would practice it on Tuesday and then Wednesday comes and we’re all getting worried, “If this guy comes, we’re going to change this up. You’re going to flare out here. You’re going to change your route.”

I’ve been part of Super Bowl runs where we start scrambling late in the week. But we really stuck to our game plan. It was the same exact plays on the script that we were working on for those final two weeks.

We executed those plays like we did throughout the whole time we were practicing. That’s when I felt like we were going to handle them pretty well, just the practices leading up to the Super Bowl.

How tough was that playoff run?

I would say it was one of the hardest playoff runs in the history of football.

We went to our first game in Washington. They weren’t that great of a team, but we were still on the road. They were solid for an 8-8 team. They had Chase Young, first round pick overall, who was explosive coming off the ball.

Then we went into New Orleans, and they already smacked us twice that year. We had a great game plan there. We finally put everything together to beat them. It wasn’t that pretty – it was our defense that game. We just did enough on offense to win.

Then we went into Green Bay and smacked them around. It wasn’t that pretty either, but we did everything we needed to do on offense. Our defense stepped up tremendously throughout the playoffs.

When we got to the Super Bowl, we just put it together as a team. It was the best complementary football you could have possibly played for a Super Bowl.

How did everyone contribute during that run?

In the playoffs, everyone contributed. It wasn’t like one guy had a hell of a playoff run. Everyone truly contributed the same amount.

Going into the Super Bowl, I had three catches in the first three playoff games. That first game versus Washington, Cam Brate had like six catches for 80 yards over the middle. All the receivers went off.

Versus New Orleans, I had one catch. Versus Green Bay, I had two catches, but one was crucial – second or third down to close out the game on a screen for about 30 yards.

Then boom, Super Bowl, I came alive. Six catches, over 60 yards. But everyone was contributing. Every receiver went off at a certain time and it was at the right time to help us win the game.

Like Scotty Miller, our fifth receiver – final 30 seconds against Green Bay in the first half. We used his skill set. He’s a speedster. He runs full speed down the field. Green Bay messed up that play by not just backpedaling, but we used his skill set. Scotty Miller blew by the DB with 10 seconds left. Boom. Touchdown.

That was the play that won us that game.

The Best Team Gronk Has Played For

We asked Gronk to compare the 2020 Bucs to any team he’d ever played on.

Who’s the better team, the 2020 Buccaneers or any of your other past teams?

Skill-wise, I think that team was probably the best skill set team I’ve ever been on throughout my career.

We had everyone. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Lenny, myself, Cam Brate, and then Ronald Jones.

Jones is a beast too. He could run hard when he was on. That’s why it’s kind of hard to argue who was number one and two.

How did you guys manage it at tight end?

I had ones and twos at tight end too. We had Cam Brate, he was a one throughout his career. OJ Howard too, we all split time and we all knew how to work off of each other.

It’s not competing versus each other. It’s how do you work with each other? How do we use this skill set of this tight end or that tight end where everything works together?

That’s what we figured out.

Of course Cam was the route runner. I did it all. We had OJ who came in for special plays and occasions because he was faster than us. Unfortunately he got hurt though, tore his Achilles around week six.

2021 Bucs: The Almost Repeat

We also spoke about the heartbreak of the following season, and why going back-to-back slipped away.

You guys almost went back-to-back. What happened?

We almost repeated. The Rams were nice though – they were stacked just like us.

There were so many factors.

We didn’t play our best ball that game. And they did.

How hard is it to go back-to-back?

To go back to back is one of the hardest things to do in all sports, especially in the NFL.

Everyone’s out to get you. Everyone wants to play their best football versus the champs, and they’re targeting you.

Everything has to work out and play in your favor. People have to stay healthy. You got to be playing your best football at the best time.

That’s what didn’t happen for us. The year before, we were all clicking, playing our best football, super healthy.

The second year, we weren’t healthy. The AB situation, Wirfs wasn’t there. Everything wasn’t clicking.

That’s why you win and lose games. Everything has to click to the tee in order to win championships.

Playing Through Pain in Tampa

We asked Gronk about the physical toll of those final years in Tampa.

How hard was it for you physically in Tampa?

It was nice to have that year off before. That’s why I retired with New England and then came back. I still had like two years left of me. Maybe two or three, or even one.

But I was never like, myself. There were some games where I definitely struggled. I was slow as can be, kind of like my last year in New England.

I had to pick and choose some plays – when to turn it on, when not – because I couldn’t be full speed with the explosiveness.

You have to be smart with it. That’s how you last longer in the NFL. You got to know the game better, because your skill set is going to diminish a little bit. But if you know the game of football better, you can outsmart your opponent.

That’s how I played – I trickled myself into the offense, used my skill set and the smartness to get open on play actions and find the open hole.

It wasn’t like I was going to go for 1,200, 1,300, 1,400 yards like I used to. But I had enough of the skill set to use in both the pass game and run game to be very effective still.

2018 Patriots-Jaguars Controversy: Was Myles Jack Down?

We had to go there. Lenny’s Jacksonville fans still bring this one up to this day.

In your opinion, did the Patriots cheat the Jaguars in the 2018 AFC Championship Game?

Yeah, but we didn’t do the cheating.

It was just a call on the field at the time, but if you go back and watch it now, I don’t think he was down.

I think the NFL came out and even admitted he wasn’t down. I think Tom even admitted it too.

But we didn’t have anything to do with that. Our running back got stripped in the corner and Myles Jack picked it up and was going to the house. That would have been a touchdown. That would have basically been the game.

But it was such a bam-bam play, and back then it wasn’t like all these reviews.

When it’s that fast, you couldn’t tell in the moment. But when you go slow motion, you can’t sit there and say he was down.

What made that final drive so special?

It wasn’t anything spectacular. It wasn’t any great throws.

What was so great was the way Tom dissected Jacksonville’s defense. They weren’t giving anything up.

But he would hit that little hole that was the only one open on the whole field. He did it the whole entire drive. He didn’t make a single mistake.

You guys weren’t going to give us a 30 yard bomb. He was just hitting the running back for six. Have this run for four, get the first down. No big play.

Then to hit Ammendola on the over route – that was the perfect play call. Dola was right in that opening. That was the only opening on the field.

Tom hit every single opening that was on the field that whole drive.

Wildest Party?

You can’t sit down with Gronk without talking about his partying.

What was the hardest you ever partied after a win?

The hardest I probably partied was after the first Super Bowl we won in Arizona versus the Seattle Seahawks.

We had the afterparty – Flo Rida was playing, Pitbull, all that. We were on stage. Probably went to bed at like 5am, hopped on the plane in the morning, got maybe 2, 3 hours of sleep.

You wake up still wasted and so beat up from the adrenaline of the game that you can’t even go back to sleep.

I took a plane to LA. Went on Jimmy Kimmel that night. Started drinking right when I got to LA – I needed to feel better. Went on Kimmel pretty toasty. Killed that. That was one of my best late night show interviews of all time. It was out of control.

Then I went out that night again until like 4 a.m. On 3 hours of sleep after playing a Super Bowl game.

Finally flew back to Boston the next day for the parade. I get to the parade and I feel like crap. What’d I do? Just started going again.

That parade had so much energy and electricity in the air. It was the best party I’ve ever been a part of. Getting your own parade as a team, going through a city of millions of people cheering for you. That was the coolest party I’ve ever been a part of.

Then I went out that night and called it.

You got to do a three-day bender when you’re that young. We were all doing it.

Did partying ever affect your game?

Yeah, definitely. It definitely affected my game.

I used to go to that level – hammered, like 15 drinks, out of control dancing for four hours. I had to turn it off. I had to get away from it because I only knew how to turn it up so high, and it was hurting me. I was getting too old to recover.

But now I’m back in the game where I know how to get to the level I need to get to. It’s not too much. I’m recovering the next day. I’m still fine.

WrestleMania just got me back in the game officially. I even said when I woke up, “All right, I know how to party again.”

Belichick vs. Bruce Arians

We asked Gronk to break down the difference between the only two head coaches he ever played for in the NFL.

What was the difference between Belichick and BA?

Coach Belichick was more hands-on. A little bit more discipline.

BA definitely had some discipline to him too, but it was a different style – not as intense and hands-on as Belichick.

The big difference was Belichick is more of a special teams, defensive guy. He dipped his hands into the offense every once in a while. He was harder on you when you didn’t do something right because he expected it out of you, even though he wasn’t part of the offense. He wasn’t telling you what to do, but when you’re not playing up to par, he’d get on you.

BA was teaching you the offense. He was more laid-back but he was an offensive-minded guy, more hands-on with the offense.

That was the true difference – I had an offensive-minded coach with BA and Belichick was more about keeping you accountable on the offensive side.

Is the “Patriot Way” real?

It’s kind of like a myth, but it’s not a myth. It’s true, but it’s not truly true.

There was never like, “All right, this is the Patriot Way.” It was never explained like that. Belichick was never like, “Patriot Way, this is how you do it.” We never said the Patriot Way, ever, in the locker room.

That became a thing with the media and outside people looking in.

But there was a standard. That’s more like it. There’s a standard to be held accountable every single day at a high level – show up and put in the best work you could possibly put in, and gain the trust of your teammates on a daily basis.

And it made you a better player and a better person.

I was blessed when I went to New England because I kind of needed that in my life. I was a freelancer out there.

So having that structure was phenomenal for me.

Gronk is Frugal

We had to get into the money talk, and it didn’t disappoint.

Is it true you still haven’t spent a dime of your NFL money?

That’s hilarious. That just got brought up the other day.

Technically not, because at the beginning I was like – I’m making it to the NFL. I never imagined it to be where it is now.

I was like, if I play three years – I was a second round pick, it was $4 million, like 3.5 guaranteed – if I play those four and that’s all I have, I can put 2 million in my bank. And I’m good.

I thought just renting an apartment was great. I didn’t know high standard living. I got brought up as more of a frugal guy, frugal family. Parents are frugal. I was using my brother’s equipment, they’d hand it down to me. I didn’t even know what new was.

If I save my money and live off a couple endorsements, doing cards, little appearances – I can be totally fine. I never have to work at 24 years old if I just play four years in the league.

That was my mindset going in. Then things just kept growing. So I never tapped into my NFL money really.

Now things are blowing up. If you look at it, I still have my NFL money.

BodyArmor, Kobe & Business Lessons

The conversation naturally turned to one of Gronk’s earliest business ventures.

Did Kobe get you to invest in BodyArmor?

I was actually the first person to represent BodyArmor, the first athlete. I didn’t invest in it. I got a little payday at first, couple shares.

About two years into it, I won the Super Bowl and they offered me something lower than what I had previously. That doesn’t make sense, I just won a Super Bowl. But they were struggling as a company at that time.

I didn’t know anything about anything. I didn’t even know how companies work. I didn’t know how business worked.

So I left and went to Monster Energy.

Then a year later, you saw the whole production with Kobe. He invested and BodyArmor started to really catch on. I was like, that’s cool. I’m with Monster, I’m not going to hate.

Then it just kept growing and growing. I’m like, I’m starting to understand how business works. I see what they were doing at the beginning. I’m in the business world more and more, because when you’re a kid you don’t know how anything works. You got to learn as you grow.

Eventually I saw it get sold when I was with the Bucs and I totally forgot about the shares I had. I got a nice chunk of change because of those shares from the first two years.

That’s when I really realized, oh, I see how the equity works now. That was a huge eye-opener for me.

I was on before Kobe. But he did a phenomenal job taking that brand to another level. No hate, no bad blood.

Now the guy who started BodyArmor just started another hydration drink – Recover 180. It’s about two years into it. A lot of great flavors. We’re friends. I saw him at a party, we’re cool, and I invested into that. Start over. I’m all in, baby.

Financial Advice for Young Players

We asked Gronk what advice he would give to any young players coming into the league.

Any advice for the young guys financially?

I spend now, baby. But I got it. That’s what I wanted. I spend, but I got it.

At first, just don’t go all in just because you have it. Simple advice, you don’t need the $200,000 car as a rookie. Get the $60,000 car. It’s basically just as flashy. It’s not going to make you more of a man or make you play better on the football field.

As a young buck, you start getting on that train right away – buying everything, all the jewelry, all the cars that depreciate the second you pull off the lot. Then guess what? You’re going to want to live that life your whole entire time.

I’m taking it one step at a time. Now I got a nice car, but I don’t have the nicest one yet. In 10 years, I’m going to have that Rolls-Royce because I just keep earning.

Spend in your means. You don’t got to go overboard. You don’t need everything flashy right away.

Just put it away. You never know when the NFL is going to be done with. Not For Long. And if you put it away, man, you’re set. Even if you put 2 million away, you’re set.

Just be basic at first. And just have energy. Have aura, that will attract everything.

Dream Guest List to Party With

We closed things out with a rapid-fire segment: three famous people you’d want at your party, and one party pooper.

You’re throwing a party. Who are the three most popular people in the world you’d want there?

Miley Cyrus in her Wrecking Ball era. Not Party in the USA, she was too young at the time. Wrecking Ball. That Wrecking Ball era Miley Cyrus. No doubt about that.

Jim Carrey. I don’t know if he parties or not, but just that electricity he brings to your table. That aura. Back in the day as well.

And Justin Bieber. He brings the heat to the table.

Name one person who’s a party pooper.

When I first got to New England, that era of Tom. He was a party pooper the first couple years. “Rob, don’t go out tonight. We got a game tomorrow.”

But now he’s the one out every night.

Or Bill. Bill when I first got there too. He was a party pooper.

I would invite Bill now, 100%. But we’re talking Bill from 2010, 2011. Party pooper.