Daniel Thomas Gronkowski (born January 21, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the seventh round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

, after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Early life

Gronkowski was born in Amherst,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to parents Gordon, and Diane Walters. His four brothers – Gordie,

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

, Rob, and Glenn – all played collegiate sports, and later played professionally. His great-grandfather,

Ignatius Ignatius is a male given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Religious * Ignatius of Antioch (35–108), saint and martyr, Apostolic Father, early Christian bishop * Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, Ignati ...

, was a member of the 1924 U.S. Olympic cycling team in Paris. Gronkowski attended

Williamsville North High School Williamsville North High School, known locally as "North" or "Will North" is a public high school in the Williamsville Central School District of Williamsville, New York. The school offers a comprehensive program with multi-level instruction in ...

where he played football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey. He was a two-year starting

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and a one-year starting

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. As a sophomore in 2001, he set a then-school record with 539 receiving yards. During his senior year in 2003, he completed 122 of 207 passes for 1,407 yards and 16 touchdowns, all of which were school records. He was named the league offensive Most Valuable Player.Player Bio: Dan Gronkowski
, University of Maryland Terrapins football official website, retrieved January 12, 2009. He was recruited by

, Arizona,

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, and Syracuse. Gronkowski has a bachelor's in

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

, and has a master's in

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

College career

Gronkowski attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and sat out the 2004 season as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

. In 2005, he saw action in five games and made two receptions for 37 yards, including a career-long 25-yard touchdown reception from Sam Hollenbach. In 2006, he saw action in all 13 games including nine starts. He had two receptions for 11 yards. He received the George Boutselis Memorial Award for team's highest

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

. In 2007, Gronkowski played in 11 games including eight starts and caught seven passes for 66 yards. He received the team's C.P. "Lefty" McIntosh Award for public service. In 2008, he played in all 13 games and started in 12. He caught 29 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, including one matching his career-long 25-yard reception in 2005. He also some action on special teams and returned two kicks for eight and four yards. He was named an honorable mention All- ACC player. He earned a degree in

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and was pursuing an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

when he was drafted. He was also in the process to be nominated as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

his final year at the University of Maryland.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Draft Countdown assessed him as the 21st-ranked tight end prospect for the

. The NFL Draft Scout ranked him the 11th out of 96 tight end prospects and projected him as a fifth or sixth round selection.

Detroit Lions

Gronkowski was selected 255th overall (2nd to last) by the

in the

. On June 25, 2009, he signed a three-year $1.21 million deal, which included a signing bonus of around $26,000. He was waived on September 5, 2009, and signed to the Lions' practice squad a day later. Gronkowski was promoted to the active roster on December 1, 2009, after tight end Brandon Pettigrew was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

due to a knee injury. He caught his first pass against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

on December 13. He was waived on December 17, and re-signed to Lions' practice squad on December 20. After his practice squad contract expired, Gronkowski was signed to a future reserve contract on January 5, 2010.

Denver Broncos

He was traded to the

on September 4, 2010, for

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Alphonso Smith. He was released on September 3, 2011.

New England Patriots

Gronkowski signed with the

on September 6, 2011. However, after playing in two games, he was waived on September 23. He re-signed with the team on October 10. On November 8, 2011, Gronkowski was released for a second time.

Cleveland Browns

After Browns tight end

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football for the Utah Utes, earning first-team All-American ho ...

was placed on the Injured Reserve, the Browns signed Gronkowski to a one-year contract on December 20, 2011. On August 31, 2012, he was released by the team but re-signed on January 3, 2013, to a futures deal. He was released by the team again on August 30, 2013.

Personal life

After his NFL career, Gronkowski joined the family-run businesses including G&G Fitness and Gronk Fitness equipments where he is in charge of marketing and product development. He married Brittany M. Blujus on July 9, 2011, in

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. ...

. They have four children. In early 2021 Gronkowski, along with his family, opened a ''NexGen Fitness'' franchise studio in Buffalo, New York. It is a high-end, boutique personal training franchise currently operating personal training studios in Texas, Oklahoma, New York, and other locations.

References

External links

Maryland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gronkowski, Dan 1985 births Living people 21st-century American businesspeople American football tight ends Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players Denver Broncos players Maryland Terrapins football players New England Patriots players People from Amherst, New York Players of American football from Buffalo, New York Sportspeople from Williamsville, New York American people of Polish descent Gronkowski family