The New England Patriots had an inkling Rob Gronkowski might leave. The finality still hurt. On Sunday afternoon, the fun-loving frat-boy turned NFL superstar walked away from football before his body completely betrayed him.

Gronkowski was beloved because he was himself. He was an unapologetic meathead; the ultimate football bro. Not even the many fans with disdain for the Patriots could fully turn against Gronkowski’s, umm, idiosyncrasies. This is a man who says he made his collegiate choice based on romantic choices rather than program pedigree, turning down Ohio State and legendary coach Jim Tressel in favor of Arizona. The weather was also nicer. “If you ever went to a pool party at Arizona, you’d understand,” he told his dad.

His intellect was a running gag, despite his PhD-level understanding of the game and business savvy – he saved every dollar of his football contracts, living off endorsement money, and there was always the suspicion he played up his goofiness to increase his earnings.

Gronkowksi was given a runway by the fans, media, and Patriots seldom given to athletes particularly, it has to be said, African American ones. He was viewed more as a grown toddler than a team distraction. Just compare the coverage of Gronkowski’s Gronk Cruise to the infamous boat outing Odell Beckham and New York Giant players took in 2017. Gronkowski was a goofball, not unprofessional or that loaded phrase “a thug”.

There were the appearances at Wrestlemania, unbeknownst to Patriots top brass; the kooky Tide Pod commercials; the photos with porn stars and kittens; numerous dance offs; lots of drinking and partying. None of it mattered though because he was great and authentic. And it should be remembered that he was a phenomenal athlete, the greatest to play his position.

Gronkowski’s two-man tandem with Aaron Hernandez changed what we thought about the tight end position. He was a revolutionary, simultaneously the league’s best blocking tight end and an unguardable receiver. His 17 touchdowns in 2011 remain the most from a tight end in a single season in history.

Early on, he played with grace and guile, and an aggression that bordered on violent. He was blessed with nimble feet and an enormous frame. He blocked like a tackle. He was the bedrock of the Patriots passing game and the league’s most devastating chess piece: safeties were too small to block him; linebackers too slow to cover him. And he did it all despite sustaining a series of debilitating injuries. In total, Gronkowski missed 29 games in his career with injuries. And he still finished with the most receiving touchdowns of any player between 2010-2019, 73 in total in 115 games.

To put that into perspective, Jimmy Graham played 22 more games than Gronkowski during that period, scoring eight fewer touchdowns. And Gronkowski averaged a full three yards per reception more. He is the only tight end in history with five 10-plus touchdown seasons. Nobody inspired as much fear in defenders as when Gronk went over the middle.

Rob Gronkowski cultivated a party boy persona. Photograph: Eric Canha/CSM/REX/Shutterstock

The punishment he doled out and received took its toll. Here’s a list of the injuries Gronkowski sustained in college and the NFL, not including nicks that didn’t hold him out of games or undiagnosed issues:

2009

• Back vertebral disc hernia

2012

• High ankle sprain

• Inguinal hip pull

• Forearm fracture

2013

• Forearm fracture

• Back vertebral fracture

• Concussion

• Torn ACL

• Torn MCL

2015

• Knee strain

2016

• Hamstring pull

• Chest lung bruise

• Back vertebral disc hernia

2017

• Leg thigh bruise

2018

• Concussion

• Back/ankle injuries

By the end, he was part human, part machine, part scotch tape, held together by scrap metal as Belichick and the Patriots tried to squeeze the final drops out of his greatness.

There was a nixed trade in 2018. Belichick saw the end coming, and he had a trade set up with Detroit, whose general manager, Bob Quinn, is a Belichick protégé as was the incoming head coach, Matt Patricia. Gronkowski caught wind of the trade and threatened to retire. The deal was nuked before its completion. “Yeah, it happened,” Gronk told reporters. “Brady’s my quarterback. ... I wasn’t going anywhere without Brady.”

The Patriots evolved Gronkowski’s game in 2019 so that he could avoid further physical punishment. He still went over the middle, but less frequently. He transitioned into more of a blocker and rotated his reps. He didn’t miss a game.

There were spots here and there in the regular season when Belichick would see if Gronkowski could still hit top speed. But much of his Gronk-ness was reserved for his final playoff run.

Gronkowski was at his dominant best during his final playoff run, as a blocker and receiver. He fronted the team’s rushing attack as they mauled the Chargers in New England. When it mattered most, on the road in Kansas City, Brady looked to his old favorite to come through in the clutch in the AFC Championship game. And the pair combined again in the Super Bowl, with Gronkowski hauling in his final reception as a Patriot, setting up the game-winning touchdown.

This pass!

THIS CATCH!



Brady and Gronk looking GOOD.



📺: #SBLIII on CBS pic.twitter.com/LJjHpUNVMj — NFL (@NFL) February 4, 2019

Now he walks away after nine years as a sure-fire Hall of Famer and a three-time NFL champion. Longevity is overrated when your peak is as high as Gronkowski’s. He achieved in under a decade what other all-time greats couldn’t quite reach in their football lifetimes. He had nothing else left to prove.

He walks away from the game that he has given so much before it could take too much. That’s an admirable decision. Now wrestling or acting or comedy or all of the above await. But Gronkowksi will always be remembered as the giant who redefined what it meant to be a tight end in the NFL and an athlete in the social media age.