A fourth-round pick?!

That’s all the New England Patriots were able to acquire for Rob Gronkowski on Tuesday, when they traded perhaps the best tight end in NFL history to Tom Brady’s Buccaneers.

It seems Bill Belichick and the Patriots had no other options than to pull the trigger on the deal that also featured a seventh-round pick heading to Tampa.

Gronkowski “basically had Belichick over a barrel,” according to the Boston Herald, citing sources.

The exuberant Gronkowski, who retired suddenly before last season to pursue other interests including the WWE, made it clear he only would return to the NFL if he was catching balls from Brady, according to the outlet.

Brady and Gronkowski formed a lethal combination in New England, where they won three Super Bowls together, and the Patriots offense struggled last season without Gronkowski.

So once Brady signed a two-year, fully guaranteed $50 million deal with the Buccaneers this offseason, rumors began that his buddy Gronk would soon be joining him.

The only obstacle in the way was Belichick, as the Patriots still owned Gronkowski’s rights because he still had one year left on his contract at $10 million.

But Belichick, never one to give in to players’ demands, saw Gronkowski, who will be 31 by next season, as a “useless” asset, according to the outlet.

That helped lead Belichick to make the deal, and given the Pats’ late-round draft success — see the sixth-round pick Brady — perhaps this move will look a lot better for the Patriots in the years to come.