"He punished me more than coach Belichick" - Rob Gronkowski opens up on Tom Brady's leadership during his rookie season
Rob Gronkowski opened up about Tom Brady's leadership during his rookie season with the New England Patriots. The Patriots selected Gronkowski in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. In his rookie season, Gronkowski caught 42 passes for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.
On Tuesday's episode of the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast, Gronkowski said Brady was a key part in making him a true pro player.
"He was on my a** 24/7, especially my rookie year," Gronkowski said. "He actually punished me more than Coach Belichick about going out. We had two different lifestyles. Obviously, he was 33. He just got married. He has kids. I'm 21 years old. I should still be in college. He would see me going out and hear the stories.
"He'd be like, 'Yo don't f**king don't go out tonight, man. We got a big game this week.' He'd keep me on my toes, rethinking what I'm about to do. ... I was kind of getting pissed off with him. I didn't really like him at first in my rookie year, and I understand it now. Man, he saw greatness in me and wanted me to be the best player."
After Gronkowski put an emphasis on his career, he became one of the top tight ends in the NFL. He was a key part of the Patriots winning three Super Bowls. He followed Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl there.
Rob Gronkowski defends Tom Brady's broadcasting career
Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady are friends, and as the quarterback began his broadcast career, it got off to a rough start.
As Brady received backlash, Gronkowski spoke publicly and defended his longtime quarterback.
“I love seeing Tom out there,” Gronkowski said last month (via Boston.com). “ I mean, whatever the guy is going to do, he’s going to succeed. And even if he starts off a little rocky, I mean, anyone’s going to start off a little rocky when it’s your first time ever in history doing such a thing and putting it all out on the line in front of millions of people, and he’s just grown tremendously like you’ve never seen before."
Gronkowski finished his career with 9,286 receiving yards and 92 touchdowns.