Rob Gronkowski Explains How He Knew His Football Career Was Nearing Its End
BOSTON (CBS) -- Rob Gronkowski's football career on the field could be defined by one word: Dominance.
When he was healthy and at his peak, there was simply no opponent who could hope to stop the Patriots' tight end from taking over football games. His ability to pack a Hall of Fame resume into just nine years despite a number of significant injuries speaks to that reality.
And so, in a moment of candor on HBO's "The Shop," Gronkowski said he knew when his days as an NFL player were winding down. Gronkowski was asked by Maverick Carter what made him figure out that 2018 would be his final NFL season.
"You know, I would say about like ... it was about two years ago, there was a game-changer in my life where like, I was trying to go out to the practices during the summer, and I was getting smoked by every rookie," Gronkowski admitted in a promotional video for the show (language warning). "I felt in order to do something bigger in life, in order to get to a higher stage -- because that's, you're winning the Super Bowl -- I felt like I had to get away from the game and focus on my health."
Gronkowski also admitted that he wasn't exactly living his life like Tom Brady, in terms of diet.
"I lived like the typical party life," Gronkowski said. "I was eating [bleeping bleep] every second. I was just trying to put on weight; I was living that life. And then at the same time, I was going out and playing [bleeping] football and running people over and getting the [bleep] run over."
Over Gronkowski's final two seasons, he caught 116 passes for 1,766 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also making 29 receptions for 409 yards and three touchdowns in six postseason games.
Last week, in his press conference announcing his newest business venture, Gronkowski happily shared that he was pain-free for the first time in years, while also stating that he's dedicated much of his life now to building up his health.