Inside Rob Gronkowski's Beautiful Mind

Forbes

8 hours ago

M ore than 4 million viewers tuning into Fox NFL Sunday last September saw Rob Gronkowski's usual carefree smirk give way to a flash of terror as Terry Bradshaw, Michael Strahan and the rest of the crew started discussing standout Dallas Cowboys tight end Rich Russo—a name that hadn't come up during the show's pregame preparation.
For good reason. This wasn't a memory lapse for Gronkowski, a four-time Super Bowl–winning tight end with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Russo didn't exist. He was part of an elaborate prank meant to haze the newest member of Fox's on-air team, who frantically tried to dig his way out of a conversation he knew nothing about on what he thought was live TV.
'Part of being an analyst is kind of BS-ing your way through,' the 36-year-old Gronk says with a smile. 'If you can do that, you're sitting in pretty good hands.'
It's easy to see Gronkowski as the perfect mark. While he compiled a Hall of Fame–worthy career across his 11 NFL seasons—with 92 career touchdown catches and nearly 9,300 receiving yards before he retired in 2022—he spent much of that time typecast as the quintessential meathead. On Netflix's The Roast of Tom Brady last year, comedian Nikki Glaser joked of Gronk, sitting on the dais: 'You're not really as dumb as you look and sound and act and are. You might be dumber'—mercilessly adding that he might be 'the first person born with CTE.'
Going Deep: 'In football, if you get a big head and think things are going to come your way, well then, boom, you get chopped right down," Gronkowski says. "You get humbled right away." Jamel Toppin for Forbes
But that's hardly the full picture. 'They think he's just a big caveman, but he really critically thinks over everything,' says Julian Edelman, Gronkowski's former Patriots teammate, with whom he cofounded the podcast production company Nuthouse Sports and cohosts the podcast Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jules . 'He is very tight. He's very detail-oriented. He's not afraid to ask questions.'
Nor is he afraid to play the fool. In fact, much like NBA legend Charles Barkley, who has jacked up his Q rating by shrewdly embracing the occasional malapropism and mastering a look of bewilderment, Gronkowski has steered into his affability and self-described 'simple' nature to build one of the most in-demand personal brands of any retired athlete, putting him on a path to far surpass the almost $71 million he collected in salary and bonuses as an NFL player.
Tallying up his endorsements with companies such as insurer USAA, online sportsbook FanDuel and Monster Energy along with his broadcasting gig at Fox and event appearances as a speaker or host, including the Gronk Beach festival in Las Vegas and college football's LA Bowl in Southern California, Forbes estimates Gronkowski earns at least $10 million annually from his business endeavors before taxes and agents' fees.
'People thought I was just a dumb jock, and it's been like that throughout my entire life,' he says. 'Sometimes it takes me a little bit longer to figure things out as well, but I always know what's going on around me. So I played into that character sometimes—not all times, but when it was necessary.'
Admittedly, that persona isn't entirely a performance. A self-described 'party rocker' in college at the University of Arizona, Gronk never hesitated to show off his wild-man tendencies in his early NFL days. After losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, he was famously seen partying with his favorite musical group, the appropriately named LMFAO, and he once capped off a postgame interview with ESPN Deportes by quipping, ' Yo soy fiesta .'
But he has always understood how success on the field could lead to other opportunities. Growing up in Buffalo, New York, he saw then-Bills quarterback Doug Flutie on a cereal box and thought, 'That could be me one day if I make it big.'
When he arrived in New England as a second-round draft pick in 2010, Gronkowski chose to bank his NFL game checks, which he still claims he has never touched. Instead, he lived off whatever endorsement money he was able to make, starting with a $50,000 marketing advance from his agent. It helped that he lived frugally: $1,500 a month on rent, eating his meals at the team facility and boozing for free in the Boston area, a perk for popular Patriots players.
Those early years taught him to play the long game and consider factors such as who he was doing business with, how companies intended to work with him and how it could push his personal brand forward.
Serious Green: At this point in his career, Gronkowski says, it's 'house money now, so let's play the game.' Jamel Toppin for Forbes
Since hanging up his cleats, he has only raised his game, to the point where he says he ends up turning down at least half the opportunities that come his way. Forbes estimates his FanDuel partnership is worth more than $1 million a year—his biggest deal to date—and Fox has made his joyful presence a constant on television, with the network using him in its Indianapolis 500 broadcast in May and making him a full-time member of its NFL pregame show in August, as a replacement for the retiring Jimmy Johnson. 'You don't have to be the biggest football fan to know who Gronk is,' says Bill Richards, executive producer of Fox NFL Sunday .
Arguably the best lesson Gronkowski learned during his playing days, though, was the power of equity. In 2013, he signed with sports drink brand Bodyarmor in a cash and stock deal despite having 'no clue' what that meant. By the time Coca-Cola bought Bodyarmor for $5.6 billion eight years later, Gronkowski had completely forgotten about his stake but still netted a 'couple million dollars' as a payout. He notched another win after a former Patriots teammate turned him on to a group of condominiums and parking garages, and he has seen his Apple stock grow tenfold since making a $69,000 purchase in 2014.
The Tao Of Gronk 'I don't even want to be known more than I am now. Where I'm at now is cool.' 'I like to party from morning to night, and then I make sure I get my sleep. But every once in a while, you got to throw it back' 'I really do like remembering things, studying and remembering things, it just feels good. It's kind of like my medication.' 'Instead of going out and getting a milkshake, just go get a protein shake and feel good about yourself.' 'You laugh your way to the bank.'
He has since expanded his portfolio with stakes in Recover 180, a sports drink company launched by Bodyarmor cofounder Lance Collins; Anivive Lifesciences, a California startup developing pet medications; and Ice Shaker, a business founded by his brother Chris that makes insulated protein shake bottles and was featured on Shark Tank . (Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez agreed to pay $150,000 for 15% of the company, and after the show, Gronk bought A-Rod's share for three times that amount because, he says, his brother is 'relentless.') There's also Greenlane, a small fast-casual salad and wrap chain with three Florida locations that he believes will be his 'home run,' so he invested more than $1 million.
At this point in his career, he says, it's 'house money now, so let's play the game.'
'I have plenty more than I ever could have imagined from the beginning, so now I can be more risky and get the F-U money so you can get a yacht,' he notes with yet another laugh. 'I can lose half of it and still be set—but I'm not going to lose half.'
More from Forbes Forbes Michael Strahan Is On The Clock By Simone Melvin Forbes The NFL's Favorite Mentalist Already Knows You're Going To Click On This By Justin Birnbaum Forbes The World's 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2025 By Brett Knight Forbes The Man Who Will Make Nick Saban A Billionaire By Chase Peterson-Withorn