Yep
I don’t believe Gronk is retiring , I think he wants more money. He’s the best player ever at his position and he’s 28, if you trade him you make sure you get real value for him, I wouldn’t take less than a top fifteen pick, and I would bet on him playing.
Here's what I know.
Immediately after the SB loss, and then coming home from that to find that the sanctity of his home had been violated, Gronk made some vague statements about pondering his future. Not a particularly unusual reaction from any human being who's just experienced such a double-whammy. When, at the time, he was asked about "retiring", he pretty much ducked the question.
That was nearly two months ago. Since then, apparently Gronk has been seen working out at the Pats facility. When asked about Gronk's intentions/state of mind, Gronk's agent has pulled a Belichick.
Gronk also has connections in Hollywood and has reportedly been given a role in a new (proposed) film.
That's all I actually know. The rest is just media-hyped speculation based on reports for "sources" - which is 99.9999% BS under pretty much any circumstances.
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The contract extension that Gronk signed way back in 2012, after only his first two seasons in the league, was considered extravagant for a TE - at the time. His scheduled pay rate for the later years of his contract (where we are now) was roughly equivalent to the pay rate for a top WR - at the time. It's not unreasonable to suspect that this contract provided at least some impetus to Jimmy Graham's subsequent suit against the league to be classed as a WR for Franchise Tag purposes, which would have meant significantly more money for him at the time (he lost, btw).
Pay scales have increased significantly over the intervening six years for both TEs and WRs. Gronk's "new cash earnings" for 2017 were actually only $5M (not even top pay for a TE, much less WR), until the Pats added incentive bonuses of $5.5M (which Gronk earned).
His 2018 new cash is scheduled to be $9M. This is good for a TE, but not nearly commensurate with his receiving production which, on a per-game basis, has consistently been among the top ten of
all receivers, and notably better than several WRs who are getting paid as much as 50% more (and none of those WRs offer the inline blocking in the running game and pass-pro that Gronk does).
So, a solid argument can be made that he's relatively underpaid for what he contributes.
IF Gronk and his agent are making this argument to the Pats, the Pats have the ability to address the issue with more incentive bonuses for 2018 that can increase Gronk's new cash intake. Or, they can extend his contract and increase his new cash intake by converting some of his 2018 and 2019 salaries to signing bonus which (in terms of cap expense) would be amortized over 1-2 more years, thus reducing his 2018 & 2019 cap hits.
I also know what fan expectations are for what the Pats
should demand/receive in exchange for Gronk in a trade scenario. In my opinion, based on previous market transactions, the Pats are highly unlikely to receive offers that include a 2018, or even 2019, first round pick - regardless how you or I (as fans) may perceive his value, and regardless of his relative statistical value.
In a ridiculous, soap-opera, media-driven-fantasy scenario in which Gronk is threatening to quit/retire unless (A) he gets significant new cash from the Pats, or (B), the Pats trade him to a team of his choice that's willing to give him that new cash, it would be the epitome of stupid (and business malfeasance) for the Pats to refuse to accept the best offer from one of those teams (whether it meets fan expectations or not) and, instead, lose Gronk for zero return.
