Rob Gronkowski recently committed to playing football in 2018, but that does not mean he is going to report to the New England Patriots if his contract situation remains unchanged. According to one report, the team is working with him on that.
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald wrote over the weekend that Gronkowski’s agent Drew Rosenhaus and the Patriots are in the process of “tweaking” the star tight end’s contract for the upcoming season.
What does that mean? Gronkowski’s base salary for 2018 is currently $8 million. That places him among the top-paid tight ends in the NFL, but it is $2 million less than the average Jimmy Graham is getting with the three-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Green Bay Packers. Last year, Gronk restructured his contract so that he had more than $5 million in incentives built in for 2017. He ended up earning all of them and making nearly $11 million, but he probably feels he should not have to deal with escalators in his contract going forward.
Gronkowski missed just one game due to injury last season, and he is said to be having some issues with Bill Belichick over training. He seems to be at the point where he has no interest in taking a hometown discount, so he probably wants to be paid the way he produces, and he produces like one of the best offensive players in football when healthy. Don’t be surprised if Patriots owner Robert Kraft gives Gronk what he wants as a means of helping to keep the peace.
