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In a normal week in late June, the news that the best closed end in NFL history has been withdrawn for the second time would be the most important story of the week. But this is not a normal week. And as a result, Rob Gronkowski’s retirement has received far less attention than it might or should have.
Gronk is out as a member of the Bucs, with about a month left for the training camp. For the first time I remember, a player’s agent publicly called BS on his client. So if Drew Rosenhaus doesn’t believe in Gronk when he says he’s retiring, why should anyone else?
Rosenhaus says he believes Gronk will be back, this season or next. Our guess is that Gronk will not return to the start of the 2022 training camp in part (if not entirely) due to the financial offers the Bucs have made.
By 2021, Gronk had a base salary of $ 8 million with incentives of up to $ 2 million. By 2022, given the dramatic increase in the receiver market, Gronk should not be running for less than $ 15 million. If he decides to take less for a limited run, assuming the Bucs are contenders, so be it. But why sign up for a full season if you don’t get what you’re really worth?
In the end, it was probably not a mistake for Rosenhaus to add the words “next season.” If / when Tom Brady jumps to a new team and if, after a year of rest, Gronk is intrigued by the possibility of joining Brady once again in an effort to win a championship with a different third team, maybe he would. .
Still, the money will have to be right. If it were currently, I would be playing.