Gronk to retire

1960Pats said:

What did Curran think was the issue that Gronk had with the Pats? I think they treated him fairly over the years, especially considering his injury history.

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Here is the article. It's a little childish in my opinion, but that assumes Curran is right regarding the specific reasons.
Curran: Gronk had nothing more to give

1) Gronk wasn't happy the Pats picked up his option in 2016 instead of renegotiating with him for a better contract and he felt he was underpaid. (my opinion - if Gronk was willing to pay back his signing bonus in 2012 if he suffered a career ending injury, then this is legit; otherwise he knowingly traded immediate security for reduced long-term earnings, he didn't have to do that.)

2) Gronk felt peeved that BB was calling him out in front of the team for poor blocking in the 2017 training camp while he was still recovering from back surgery (I can sympathize a bit if this happened but we all know BB intentionally calls out his stars so that the team knows he doesn't play favorites).

3) Apparently somehow Gronk isn't thrilled that he negotiated incentives last year that he didn't reach. (I don't understand this complaint and Curran didn't explain it well; they were all attainable based on his 2017 performance).

EDIT - too slow....

RE: Gronk coming back later in the season idea

I'd be geeked/happy to see him running around in a Pats uniform later this season, but it would probably mean that something was wrong with the 2019 offense that they didn't fix. And it could ruin a fairly elegant retirement story of going out with a ring.

robertweathers said:

Curran: Gronk had nothing more to give

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Great article. Thanks for taking the time to pass it along. I don't know how I missed it in the first place. It definitely answered my question.

tasmlab said:

RE: Gronk coming back later in the season idea

I'd be geeked/happy to see him running around in a Pats uniform later this season, but it would probably mean that something was wrong with the 2019 offense that they didn't fix. And it could ruin a fairly elegant retirement story of going out with a ring.

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Not if we win the Super Bowl next year

1960Pats said:

Great article. Thanks for taking the time to pass it along. I don't know how I missed it in the first place. It definitely answered my question.

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I don't think any kind of grudges he may have had impacted his decision to retire but I do think doing the FO a solid and rushing his decision was not something he was going to do.

I do believe when BB reached out to Rosenhaus and asked about Gronk, I think Drew had a gut feeling what BB's next move would be and encouraged Gronk to make a decision- quickly.

1960Pats said:

Great article. Thanks for taking the time to pass it along. I don't know how I missed it in the first place. It definitely answered my question.

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BTW, his agent Drew Rosenhaus puts a completely different spin on the contract situation compared to Curran. Now there's going to be some bias there - Rosenhaus needs to continue to negotiate with the Patriots in the future, and apparently Belichick and Rosenhaus have a good relationship to begin with. But it's interesting to see the contrast in spin.
Patriots wisely extended Gronk for six years, two years after he was drafted

robertweathers said:

Yea I don't see him coming back either.

I remember when Brown pulled that PR stunt saying he'd come back because he didn't want Franco Harris to break his rushing record. He was in his late 40s when he was on that SI cover I think.

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Basically called Harris a p*ssy for ducking out of bounds, if I remember correctly. Said he should fight for extra yardage.

Steve:Section 102 said:

Basically called Harris a p*ssy for ducking out of bounds, if I remember correctly. Said he should fight for extra yardage.

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Yep.

I didn't like his running style either but you can't argue with the results.

Belichick provides an answer on when he knew about his retirement.

Hammer of Thor said:

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He was full on mid season "I'm here because I am supposed to be" mode.

And now it is official.

luuked said:

And now it is official.

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It is official, but it is never final and can be easily undone if someone changes their mind.

QuantumMechanic said:

It is official, but it is never final and can be easily undone if someone changes their mind.

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Say he does change his mind. How does that work re: the cap. Pats wouldn't need to sign him to a new deal. They would just be charged the $9m pro-rated based on # of games, correct?

robertweathers said:

Say he does change his mind. How does that work re: the cap. Pats wouldn't need to sign him to a new deal. They would just be charged the $9m pro-rated based on # of games, correct?

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Great question! I'd love to know.

robertweathers said:

Say he does change his mind. How does that work re: the cap. Pats wouldn't need to sign him to a new deal. They would just be charged the $9m pro-rated based on # of games, correct?

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That is my understanding. Of course they can add playoff bonuses and whatnot so if he comes back in November with 10 games played he is not just playing for 4m or whatever.

QuantumMechanic said:

Great question! I'd love to know.

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Yea I have no idea how it would work. I'm just assuming that is what would happen.

It was a little less depressing to hear this, my son was sad as Gronk was his favorite.

I completely understand why he’s leaving as the game has taken a toll on his body. He always gave it everything on every single play and playing that hard does come at a price.

Easily the greatest tight end of all time. It’s not even close especially when you factor in his postseason performance.

My son summed it up best today. I told him players can’t play forever and maybe the Patriots will get someone new who we like just as much. I said look at when Vereen left, we were sad but now James White is one of our favorites.

My son replied, “there’s only one Gronk”.

Good point kiddo.

I had no idea when I made this video he would be the GOAT. Glad I did.