Growing up Gronk: Raising a family of sports champions

This piece originally aired on Jul 17, 2013.

The New England Patriots are heading to the 2015 Super Bowl with star tight-end Rob Gronkowski. Last year, he watched the AFC Championship with his family, sidelined with a knee surgery.

Three NFL teams can boast about having a Gronkowski on the roster, and there's a good chance we'll see a fourth brother play in the next few years, reports CBS News correspondent Don Dahler.

According to the brothers, growing up a Gronkowski was always a contact sport and it prepared them for a future in the pros, which is a career path shared by each sibling.

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Rob, Dan and Chris are all in the NFL. Gordie played professional baseball and Glenn, the youngest Gronkowski, hopes to join his brothers once he finishes college.

Even with such high expectations, Glenn is confident.

"I think it's just awesome, like, accomplishing everything they have - knowing that they've gone through everything," he said. "I definitely still have to work at it."

They learned hard work early, courtesy of their father, Gordy, who made a gym in their basement and coordinated a schedule of physical activity that rarely let up.

"I said, 'This will take you to the next level. If you work hard and have the passion and you have that type of attitude.' And basically it caught on," he said.

Gordy shares his story of raising a family of champions in the book "Growing Up Gronk." It is part memoir, part playbook.

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"I took care of the sports end of it and my ex-wife, she took care of the other end of it and made sure schooling was always there," he said. "My goal in sports was to get them full scholarships to college and once I got that, anything else was a bonus in my opinion."

The odds of three siblings reaching the NFL are an estimated 31 million-to-one. Rob became a record-breaking star with the New England Patriots, Chris will take the field this year with the San Diego Chargers and Dan with the Cleveland Browns.

Rob is the highest paid tight-end in NFL history and his most recent contract is worth $54 million over six years.

For Don Dahler's full report, watch the video in the player above.