With Rob Gronkowski officially retiring after two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, you may be curious as to how the move might impact the NFC South giant’s cap space.
Luckily for the Bucs, it looks like it won’t. Or rather, it won’t affect them any more than it would have if he were still a free agent.
According to Bucs insider Greg Auman, Gronk’s retirement will have no further financial impact on the team because he was not under contract for 2022. But there will still be some dead money on their books.
Per the report, Gronkowski has given the Bucs $5 million in dead money from his 2021 contract. That deal included several void years that spread out the cap hit to a more manageable number each year.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers acquired Rob Gronkowski’s rights in a trade with the New England Patriots in 2020. Gronkowski came out of retirement to reunite with Tom Brady in Florida.
The pairing worked, with Gronkowski returning to form in the playoffs. He had two touchdown receptions from Brady in Super Bowl LV in their blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
But injuries have affected Gronkowski through his entire NFL career. This past season he dealt with rib fractures and a punctured lung before missing four games. At 33 years of age, this retirement feels a lot more authentic than the last one. Have we really seen the last of Rob Gronkowski on an NFL field?
