Super Bowl 53: Which New England Patriots might retire?

Rob Gronkowski

Of all the Patriots’ biggest stars, tight end Rob Gronkowski seems the most likely to call it quits after Super Bowl 53.

He’s had a well-publicized down year for the team, tying a career-low for touchdown catches, and finishing with the second-lowest number of receptions during a season in which he’s played at least 10 games.

Some of the problems and production issues can be chalked up to injuries, as has often been been the case with Gronkowski. He’s only played a full 16-game season twice in his nine-year career, and both instances were at the very beginning of his time in the NFL.

Ironically, the one thing standing most in the way of Gronkowski continuing his professional football career is the same thing that brought him superstardom: his personality. Already a monster on the field as a prolific dual-threat tight end, he became a true household name because of his boyish, bouncing personality off the field.

Gronkowski is the football matchup nightmare, the red-zone cheat code for offensive coordinators; “Gronk” is the lovable meathead who dates swimsuit models, cameos in WWE events, and sails the seas on a party cruise ship.

In other words, the Patriots and the NFL need Rob Gronkowski more than Rob Gronkowski needs any of them.

Don’t be fooled by the big man’s fun-loving personality and penchant for revelry, either. He’s also a brilliant financial strategist that’s squirreled away every penny he’s ever made in contract money since coming into the league, choosing instead to live lavishly off product endorsements, commercials, and promotional appearances. He is the rare professional athlete that doesn’t need to play another year or earn another contract to spend the rest of his adult life surviving more comfortably than most of us could ever dream of doing.

So it’s no wonder he’s now dodging retirement questions the same way scared NFL defenders sometimes dodge him on the field.