NFL Twitter Reacts to Rob Gronkowski’s Retirement Decision

The four-time Super Bowl champion has spiked his last football in the NFL.

It’s official: Gronk has spiked his last football.

Or at least he has as an NFL player. The four-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement on Tuesday, thanking the Buccaneers with an Instagram post.

“I want to thank the whole entire first class Buccaneers organization for an amazing ride, trusting me to come back to play and help build a championship team,” Gronkowski said in the Instagram post. “I will now be going back into my retirement home, walking away from football again with my head held high knowing I gave it everything I had, good or bad, every time I stepped out on the field.”

Gronkowski first retired in 2019 after nine seasons with the Patriots, but he came out of retirement in 2020 to join Tom Brady and the Buccaneers en route to another Super Bowl. Gronkowski had been non-committal about returning during the offseason before announcing on Tuesday that he was done for good.

Gronkowski’s impact on the game during his career was immense. The former New England and Tampa star will go down as one of the best tight ends in NFL history. Along with his Super Bowl championships, he walks away from football as a four-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler. He’s third all-time in receiving touchdowns among tight ends at 92, trailing only Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.

Unsurprisingly, people throughout the league took to social media to congratulate Gronk on his outstanding career. Here are some of the best from the bunch:

End of the road for Gronk announcing his retirement. Certainly a good argument for best TE ever. https://t.co/WLT8IPji9k

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) June 21, 2022

Peak Gronk was insane. pic.twitter.com/qALBqyWCik

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 21, 2022

gronk's retirement message is the story of how he forgot an essay he wrote in college. the brand is strong. pic.twitter.com/2DOV9Jr9n5

— Nora Princiotti (@NoraPrinciotti) June 21, 2022

Gonna miss moments like these from Gronk and Tom ❤️ pic.twitter.com/KG2FI0MbM7

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) June 21, 2022

There will only ever be one Gronk.
Love you bro. #FoxboroForever pic.twitter.com/yeqnXqzWVM

— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) June 21, 2022

Gronk on the game-winning drive against Pittsburgh in 2017 was the single most dominant drive by a player I've ever seen.

Three catches, 69 yards, key block on TD run, two-point conversion. Unstoppable. #Patriots

h/t @PFF_Mike for the clips pic.twitter.com/MJcNmVp3iZ

— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) June 21, 2022

Gronk is the best TE ever…& it’s not really close. There are a rare few who’ve caught passes similarly well. There are a rare few who’ve blocked similarly well. But nobody’s done BOTH things at that level. Nobody. The whole job is the whole job—and that’s why he’s clearly the 🐐

— Matt Chatham (@chatham58) June 21, 2022

I truly thought we’d see @RobGronkowski one more season, but he leaves the game with 4 rings, tons of records and too many Gronk spikes to count. The stat sheets don’t measure laughs, but we know he’d be Hall of Fame in that category too. Thanks always for the entertainment 87. pic.twitter.com/475wgDP7FW

— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) June 21, 2022

Best of luck with whatever's next 😂

Happy retirement, Gronk! pic.twitter.com/lIPdO6VLUi

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) June 21, 2022

Still the best Gronk moment everpic.twitter.com/qMA8iBbvog

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 21, 2022

Throwback to Tom Brady throwing the Lombardi to Gronk's boat at the SB parade 😂 pic.twitter.com/t4iUksbTlF

— Pickswise (@Pickswise) June 21, 2022

If this is the end for Gronk… sauté to an amazing career. True story: this picture was from a SB 47 party. Gronk asked if I wanted a drink. I said yes. He then proceeded to pull a vodka bottle out of his pants. I said “ I’ll just get one from the bar”. #legend #gronkllife pic.twitter.com/RUsVVtNdeA

— trey wingo (@wingoz) June 21, 2022

Never forget Gronk's biggest performance of his career 😂🐐 pic.twitter.com/56CvMCde1B

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) June 21, 2022

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