Tom Brady has received his share of support from current and former NFL players after he announced his retirement. But one of the funniest messages came from someone who played within for a decade. Tight end Rob Gronkowski went to social media to send a message to the 45-year-old quarterback for retiring for the second time.
“Tommy, since I already wrote you a long retirement message last year, this time I shall say, welcome to the 2x retired club,” Gronkowski wrote on his Instagram post. “You’re a legend and you always will be, my friend.” On Feb. 1, 2022, Brady announced his retirement only to return to the NFL a month later. Gronkowski knows all about retiring twice since he did it after the 2018 season and again three years later. After Gronkowski retired the first time, he didn’t play for an entire year before joining Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
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Brady and Gronkowski were teammates when they both played for the New England Patriots from 2010-2018. During that time, the duo led the Patriots to five Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl wins. And when the two joined the Buccaneers in 2020, the team won the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2002 season.
Gronkowski has been staying busy with multiple projects, including appearing on Fox Sports as an analyst. Brady has agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract to be the lead NFL analyst on Fox Sports. And while there was some speculation that he could join the team for Super Bowl coverage, it’s been reported that Brady will take some time off before he jumps into his next job.
“I know the process was a pretty big deal last time so when I woke up this morning I just figured I’d press record and let you guys know first. So I won’t be long-winded,” Brady said in his retirement announcement video. “You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year. Thank you, guys, so much, to every single one of you for supporting me. My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors, I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”
