Long-time New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (seen during a press conference ahead of the 2018 AFC championship game) announced his retirement from the NFL in March, and he’s now headed into the NFL media world. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday that Gronkowski is headed to the NFL on Fox, including the main Fox NFL Sunday pre-game show.
Former #Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is coming to a TV near you: Sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo that Gronk has been hired by FOX to appear as a regular analyst for FOX NFL Sunday. A dynamic role for future Hall of Famer.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 8, 2019
Fox put out its own release shortly afterwards, which didn’t mention specific shows Gronkowski will contribute to regularly, but did mention that he’ll make his analyst debut on their Thursday Night Football pre-game show this week.
Gronkowski makes his analyst debut on FOX NFL THURSDAY PRESENTED BY VERIZON Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 PM ET on FOX. He joins Pro Football Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, Michael Strahan and Tony Gonzalez, and NFL insider Peter Schrager for the Thursday pregame show.
“We’re thrilled Rob chose FOX Sports for the next phase of his football life,” [Fox executive vice president Brad] Zager said. “He is one of the most popular players to ever play the game and also one of the best tight ends in NFL history. His passion for the game and larger-than-life personality make him a perfect fit for FOX Sports.”
…“I’m extremely excited to be joining FOX Sports,” Gronkowski said. “For the past 25 years, they’ve offered viewers top-notch NFL programming from the field to the booth to the studio. Their deep talent roster is unmatched, which was important for me as I embark on this new chapter in my life because I’ll be able to learn from the best in the business.”
While that quote doesn’t seem like anything the 30-year-old Gronkowski would ever normally say, it’s certainly interesting to see him in the NFL media world. And that adds to the many different ventures he’s been involved with, from cruises to action movies to improv to game shows and cooking shows to commercials and PSAs to books to WWE. We’ll see how he does as a Fox analyst. Let’s just hope there are no lap dances involved this time.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.