Feb 10, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Rob Gronkowski appears on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors awards presentation at YouTube Theater. Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Some call Rob Gronkowski charismatic, others fun, free-spirited, and goofy, but Mike Francesa calls him a clown.

Gronkowski might not be known as a seasoned broadcaster, but he is already in his second stint as an NFL analyst with Fox.

He joined the network in 2019 during his first retirement and again in 2022 after choosing to leave the football field for the final time. On the latest episode of The Mike Francesa Podcast, the sports radio legend was asked to assess Gronkowski as a broadcaster, and his assessment wasn’t great.


“Anything that deals with announcers is highly subjective because it’s how they hit you. They don’t bring anything that allows you to subjectively rank them. It’s all subjective, whether you like or dislike a certain personality,” Francesa said before delivering the blow. “They’ve turned Gronk, who had a brilliant career, into a clown. He gets a lot of commercials. They’ve turned him into a stooge. Does he want that? I don’t know. That’s what he’s become. But again, it’s all subjective.”

And subjectively, Francesa doesn’t seem to be a fan of Gronkowski. “Clown” might be a bit harsh. But more than “clown” being a harsh characterization of Gronkowski, it’s harsher to claim his media persona is Fox’s fault.

Francesa probably isn’t alone in his assessment of Gronkowski. And while critics can blame Fox for platforming Gronkowski, they can’t really blame the network for cultivating his personality.  Fox hired Gronkowski to play the frat boy image he’s portrayed throughout his career. No one is watching Gronkowski wondering what Fox did to the future Hall of Famer. If you’re watching Gronkowski on Fox, you know what you’re going to get.

[The Mike Francesa Podcast]

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com