Rob Gronkowski has been a Super Bowl champion his last two NFL seasons.
The tight end retired following the Patriots beating the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, sat out a year, and then came out of retirement and was traded from New England to Tampa Bay.
His first year as a Buccaneer was capped off with a 31-9 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Speaking afterwards, Gronkowski acknowledged this one felt different than the last one because of the way he feels physically. The tight end played in 20 games this season, the most of his career, and was primarily injury-free.
“I remember after that win I was so done coming off the [field]," he said. "I was like, ‘I am just glad it’s over.’ Just the pain I was in, too. It was great to be a champ, but it just felt great to be done.
“[I took] the year off, go through that journey. Heal up. Get my mind right and just see the options out there, see everything play out and just come down here to Tampa Bay. Come out of retirement. I retired from being retired, which is pretty cool.
"Just coming down here [for] this journey. I saw the opportunity. I thought it was a great opportunity. I love Florida. It was an opportunity to be in great weather and t-shirt and shorts and sandals basically every day going to work. That’s my style. Just unbelievable. What a journey it’s been. What a story it’s been. What a start it was to the journey and what a finish. It’s for real. It was the real deal.”
Gronkowski, who finished the game with six catches for 67 yards and a touchdown, said joining Tom Brady in Tampa and winning a Super Bowl in their hometown in their first year with the team is one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history.
"Hands down, one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history," he said. "I am not going to say it’s the greatest, but I would say it’s up there, for sure. To come down here to Tampa, come to an organization that was ready to win. Come down here to play with players, they are all fantastic players. Great guys. Just everyone overall. The story is just unbelievable and it definitely ranks up there as one of my biggest accomplishments, ever.”
This was Gronkowski's fourth Super Bowl title overall.
“It feels amazing. It feels tremendous. It’s just an unbelievable story," he said. "The first team ever going to the Super Bowl in their hometown. Just that story is just surreal. There’s just so many storylines to this team this year, but I would say the most important storyline was how everyone worked together from the defensive side to the offensive side of the ball. Everyone contributed. Everyone played their role. It was just amazing. What a year it was playing with these guys. Just what a year. I just can’t say that enough — what a year it was. It was a pleasure.
"Now. it’s time to celebrate. Now it’s time to celebrate with these guys because we deserve it. It was a grind. It was about 28 weeks straight of football. Now we’re going to celebrate because that is what it’s all about.”
