New England Patriots: WWE won’t get bidding war for Rob Gronkowski
Will it be the NFL or a career in wrestling? A wrestling insider says the WWE will not get in a bidding war for New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The bad news is New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has yet to commit to the 2018 season. The good news is that the WWE has no interest in luring the All-Pro playmaker away from the NFL.
In fact, if there is any ounce of passion left for playing football, Gronkowski will wear a Patriots uniform again. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, he will make more money doing so.
Meltzer, who first broke the news that the WWE was prepared to offer Gronkowski a contract, appeared on Dale & Holley with Keefe to discuss his initial report. What he clarified is that the WWE is interested in the Patriots tight end only if he retires and is not trying to convince him to retire.
"“I think that is more of a Gronkowski is going to make the call himself and I don’t think it is WWE is trying to – they are not going to outbid him,” Meltzer said, as transcribed by WEEI. “They are not going to spend $10 million a year on him. But, if he’s done with football, are they interested in him? Yeah, it is pretty clear they are.”"
Now that we are a couple of weeks removed from Super Bowl LII, reports have surfaced that Rob Gronkowski has contemplated retirement for some time. Due to his history of injury, it does make since that he is putting his health first.
WWE success?
While a career in entertainment is certainly on the horizon for Gronkowski in some fashion, Meltzer went on to offer his opinion on the amount of money and success the tight end could have in the WWE.
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"“It’s really hard to say because I can’t imagine him going in and doing 200 dates a year,” he said. “James Laurinaitis is a perfect example. He comes from a wrestling family. His uncle is a former executive at WWE. His father was a great wrestler. He had an open door whenever his football career was over, and when his football career was over he was too beat up. He didn’t want to do it.”"
On the flip side, Meltzer gave former NFL linebacker Kevin Greene as another example of a player who couldn’t handle the schedule of the WWE. That’s why he feels Gronkowski is primed for a part-time gig in which he could make a couple of million.
In a previous article, I wrote that Rob Gronkowski would choose between the WWE and NFL. That may not be the case. The real question is whether the New England Patriots record-setting tight end still has the passion for football. The WWE will be there as an option if and when he does decide to walk away from the game.
As far as the Patriots go, they will need Gronk to make a decision fairly soon for a couple of reasons. They will need to know which direction to go in as far as roster management goes. If Gronkowski does return, they will most likely have to work on a restructured contract.
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Of course, there is always the chance they would trade him.