Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Rob Gronkowski Heads Back to New England on a One-Day Contract to Officially Retire as a Patriot!

Rob Gronkowski's official retirement ceremony to take place on Wednesday in New England!

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Of the multitude of legendary players to have played the tight end position in the NFL, there is probably no name bigger than that of former Patriot Rob Gronkowski.

Having stepped away from the game of football at the end of the 2021 season, the one-of-a-kind player is heading back to the city and the organization that gave him everything to formally retire from the game.

Rob Gronkowski to retire as a Patriot

The announcement of Rob Gronkowski’s official retirement as a New England Patriot came from the player himself this past Sunday during FOX’s NFL Sunday broadcast.

“I am signing a one-day contract with the Patriots this week, coming up to retire as a Patriot and be a Patriot for life,” said the former tight end. The same was also reciprocated by the Patriots’ social media account, which also mentioned that the event will take place on Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. local time. In order to officially retire as a Patriot, Gronkowski (popularly known as Gronk) will be signing a one-day contract, which is just a formality, per se.

The greatest tight end in @NFL history is retiring a Patriot!

Watch @RobGronkowski sign his one-day contract this Wednesday at 12:15 PM LIVE on Patriots digital & social. pic.twitter.com/fXOwNHDtFq
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 10, 2025

Why Is Gronkowski Retiring as a Patriot?

One would assume that after having spent 9 seasons in New England and winning 3 Super Bowls with the franchise, this would be the main reason behind Gronkowski’s retirement as a Patriot.

However, the real motive for this stems from the wish of Gronkowski’s late great friend, Susan Hurley. Susan was a philanthropist with whom the former tight end struck a long-lasting and deep friendship, as she had worked with him closely on the ‘Gronk Nation Youth Foundation’ among other local projects.

As recently as last summer at the inauguration of the ‘Gronk Playground’ in Boston, she asked the Patriots owner Robert Kraft if the franchise could just sign Gronkowski on a one-day deal so that he could retire as a Patriot, to which both Kraft and Gronk agreed instantaneously.

Unfortunately, Hurley passed away on November 1 on account of ovarian cancer. Although she won’t be there to witness the event, the Patriots have decided to move up the date and follow through with Gronk’s official retirement in light of her passing.

We lost a good one this weekend. My family and I have known Susan Hurley for a long time. She was a great friend who supported us and our foundation more than words can express.

Even more importantly, she helped countless Boston Marathon charity teams support so many great… pic.twitter.com/Q69XFRbzk6
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) November 5, 2025

Rob Gronkowski’s NFL Career

One of the greatest, if not the greatest, tight ends in the history of the NFL, Rob Gronkowski, had a Hall of Fame career. Gronkowski played a total of 11 seasons in the NFL, 9 of them with the Patriots and the last 2 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

One of the most reliable pass catchers for quarterback Tom Brady, the duo teamed up to win 3 Super Bowls in New England and followed it up with another Super Bowl win in Tampa Bay. The four-time Super Bowl Champion was also named to 5 Pro Bowls, and holds the NFL record for the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a season (17).

Gronkowski finished his NFL career playing in 142 regular-season games, catching 621 passes for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns. He also played in 22 postseason games, in which he caught 98 balls for 1,389 yards, including 15 touchdowns.

On the field, Gronkowski was a livewire who always gave it everything he had. He was born to be a champion, and that’s exactly how he left the game, winning the most coveted prize in the NFL four times.

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!