We've already seen in recent years how important a player like Rob Gronkowski is to this football team, and it appears the Patriots are taking steps to ensure he stays in New England.
ESPN's Field Yates reported on Tuesday that the Patriots made a move to try and keep Gronkowski in a Patriots' uniform through at least the end of the decade.
According to Yates, New England accelerated Gronkowski's year-end roster bonus, paying him $4-million of his $10-million bonus as a show of good faith. Since Gronkowski has a four-year option that can be exercised at the end of the season and included that bonus, it appears it's now just a formality that he'll be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
He'll reportedly receive the balance of the bonus after the season.
Gronkowski has already done so much in such a short period of time that its hard to believe he's just 26 years old and still has so much football still ahead of him. Fortunately it looks like he'll be playing much of it in New England, which is definitely good news.
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