Rob Gronkowski Robert James " Rob " Gronkowski ( born May 14 , 1989 ) , nicknamed " The Gronk " , is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Arizona , and was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft . In 2011 Gronkowski , in just his second season in the NFL , set the single - season record for touchdowns by a tight end , with 17 receiving touchdowns , and 18 overall . In so doing , he became the first tight end in NFL history to lead the league in receiving touchdowns . Family and early years . Gronkowski is the second - youngest of five brothers . The eldest , Gordie Jr . , played baseball at Jacksonville University , and was on the professional Canadian - American league Worcester Tornadoes ' 2011 roster . Chris played football for two years at the University of Maryland before transferring to Arizona . Dan played as a tight end at Maryland and was selected in the 2009 NFL Draft . The youngest brother , Glenn , is attending Kansas State University . The brothers ' great - grandfather , Ignatius Gronkowski , was a member of the 1924 U . S . Olympic cycling team in Paris . Gronkowski was raised in Williamsville , New York and attended Williamsville North High School for three years . He played football , as a tight end , and basketball , as a center . As a junior playing football , he recorded 36 receptions for 648 yards and seven touchdowns on offense , and 73 tackles and six sacks on defense . He was named an All - Western New York first - team and All - State second - team player . In 2006 his family moved to Allegheny County , Pennsylvania , where he attended Woodland Hills High School ( in Churchill ) as a senior . Initially ruled ineligible by the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League , that ruling was overturned , and he recorded eight receptions for 152 yards and four touchdowns at Woodland Hills . He was named a SuperPrep All - American , PrepStar All - American , Associated Press Class 4 - A all - state , " Pittsburgh Post - Gazette " " Fabulous 22 " , " Pittsburgh Post - Gazette " first - team all - conference , " The Patriot - News " ( Harrisburg , Pennsylvania ) " Platinum 33 " , and a " Pittsburgh Tribune - Review " " Terrific 25 " player . He was recruited by Arizona , Clemson , Louisville , Maryland , Ohio State , and Syracuse . College career . Following high school , he attended the University of Arizona . As a freshman in 2007 , he recorded 28 receptions for 525 yards and six touchdowns . His 18 . 8 yards per reception average was the best on the team and his receiving yards were a school record for a tight end . He was named a " The Sporting News " freshman All - American , Rivals . com freshman All - American , " The Sporting News " freshman Pac - 10 , and All - Pac - 10 honorable mention player . Gronkowski missed the first three games of the 2008 season , but later recorded 47 receptions for 672 yards and a team - best ten touchdowns . Five of his touchdowns were scored in his first two games . He twice was named the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week , including his performance in a failed comeback bid against Oregon , when he caught 12 passes for 143 yards . He set the school records for a tight end for single - game , single - season , and career receptions , yards , and touchdowns . Gronkowski was named an Associated Press third - team All - American and All - Pac - 10 first - team tight end . Prior to the 2009 season , he was named to the Lombardi Award watchlist for the most outstanding college football lineman or linebacker . Professional career . New England Patriots . Gronkowski was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round ( 42nd overall ) of the 2010 NFL Draft . He signed a four - year contract on July 25 , 2010 . The deal was worth $ 4 . 4 million , with a $ 1 . 76 million signing bonus . 2010 season . During the preseason , Gronkowski was one of three NFL players to score four touchdowns , tying Victor Cruz , a rookie wide receiver for the New York Giants and Anthony Dixon , a running back for the San Francisco 49ers . On one of those touchdowns , a 14 - yard pass from Tom Brady , Gronkowski dragged St . Louis Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis several yards before diving into the end zone . In the Week 1 game against Cincinnati , Gronkowski caught his first regular season touchdown in the fourth quarter on a one - yard pass from Brady . In a Week 10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers , Gronkowski caught three touchdown passes from Brady , becoming the first rookie in Patriots history , and the youngest rookie in NFL history to accomplish the feat . ( In honor of the feat , " Madden NFL 12 " has a " Rob Gronkowski Award " for players who have a tight end catch three or more touchdowns in a single game . ) Returning to his home city of Buffalo in Week 16 , Gronkowski caught two touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills , giving him nine touchdown catches on the season . He added a touchdown in the season finale , giving him 10 on the season , and making him the first rookie tight end since the NFL - AFL merger to score 10 touchdowns . In 16 games played ( 11 starts ) , Gronkowski caught 42 passes for 546 yards . Despite missing his entire 2009 college season following back surgery , Gronkowski did not miss a single game or practice all season . Gronkowski was nominated three times for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week , in Weeks 10 , 14 , and 17 , losing in Week 10 to Tim Tebow , and winning in Weeks 14 and 17 . Gronkowski also finished fifth in fan balloting at tight end for the 2011 Pro Bowl , and fourth overall among rookies . Gronkowski also received one writer ' s vote for the Associated Press 2010 All - Pro Team ( writers only vote for one tight end ) . 2011 season . Gronkowski caught his first touchdown of the 2011 season on a 10 - yard pass from Tom Brady in the Patriots ' Week 1 victory over the Miami Dolphins ; Gronkowski ' s 6 catches accounted for 86 of Brady ' s franchise record 517 yards . In Week 11 , Gronkowski caught two touchdown passes , including a career - long 52 - yard catch and run , to equal his 2010 TD total in just ten games ; he passed his reception and yardage totals from 2010 in only eight games . Through Week 11 , Gronkowski led all tight ends with 10 touchdowns ; his 20 TDs were the most ever for a TE in his first two seasons . His reception and receiving yardage totals both ranked second among TEs ( after Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints ) , and in the top ten among all receivers , though they only ranked second on the Patriots , behind Wes Welker . Gronkowski broke the NFL record for touchdowns scored in a single season by a tight end when he had the second three - TD game of his career in the Patriots ' Week 13 victory against the Indianapolis Colts . After scoring two TDs on receptions from Tom Brady , Gronkowski scored a third touchdown from 2 yards out . Initially declared a forward pass , the pass was later ruled a lateral pass , which is recorded as a rushing attempt ; it was the first rushing attempt of Gronkowski ' s career , and his first rushing touchdown . It was also the first rushing touchdown by a tight end since Bo Scaife did it in 2006 , and the first in Patriots history . At game ' s end , Gronkowski had sole possession of the touchdown scoring record , with 14 , and shared the record for " receiving " touchdowns , 13 , with Antonio Gates and Vernon Davis . Gronkowski took sole possession of the TE receiving record a week later against the Washington Redskins , in which he caught his 14th and 15th touchdown passes of the season ; in total , he had six receptions for a career - high 160 yards . His performance also earned him his first AFC Offensive Player of the Week award , and , for the second week in a row , NFL . com ' s " Hardest Working Man " award . He ended the season with 1 , 327 receiving yards , breaking the previous NFL record for a tight end of 1 , 290 set by Kellen Winslow in 1980 . He also finished with 18 total touchdowns , 17 receiving — both NFL records for tight ends . Gronkowski ' s 18 touchdowns were the second - highest total in the NFL ( after Philadelphia ' s LeSean McCoy , who had 20 ) , and equaled the output of the entire St . Louis Rams team . His 17 receiving touchdowns were the most of any NFL player in 2011 , marking the first time in NFL history a tight end had sole possession of the league lead . Gronkowski was voted the starting tight end for the AFC at the 2012 Pro Bowl . One of eight Patriots players voted to the Pro Bowl , he finished fan voting with 936 , 886 votes , more than triple the number received by the number two tight end , Gronkowski ' s teammate Aaron Hernandez , and the third - highest total of any AFC player , behind teammates Tom Brady and Wes Welker . He was also voted the tight end for the AP All - Pro first team , receiving 44½ of the 50 votes ( 44 voters voted for Gronkowski ; 5 voters voted for Jimmy Graham , and one voter split a vote between the two ) . 2011 post - season . In the Patriots ' first playoff game , a 45 – 10 rout of the Denver Broncos in the Divisional round , Gronkowski tied an NFL post - season record , catching three touchdown passes as part of a 10 - catch , 145 - yard effort . Gronkowski alone had more catches than the entire Broncos offense , as quarterback Tim Tebow completed just 9 of 26 passes . For the second playoff game , a 23 - 20 win over the Baltimore Ravens . Gronkowski had 5 catches for 87 yards , with a long reception of 23 yards . In the second half , Gronkowski suffered a high ankle sprain on a tackle by Ravens safety Bernard Pollard ; the status of his ankle was one of the major story lines in the runner - up to Super Bowl XLVI . With only a few seconds left in the 4th quarter in Super Bowl XLVI , Gronkowski ran into the endzone waiting for the last pass by Tom Brady but was incomplete . The Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants 17 - 21 . A few days after the Super Bowl , Gronkowski had an MRI of his injured ankle that revealed strained ligaments and required surgery to repair . 2012 . On June 8 , 2012 , Gronkowski signed a six - year , $ 54 million contract extension , the largest ever for an NFL tight end . The contract included an $ 8 million signing bonus , but leaves the 2012 and 2013 seasons of his rookie contract intact . Gronkowski broke his left forearm late in the fourth quarter of the Patriots ' 59 - 24 victory in Week 11 over the Indianapolis Colts with reports stating he would be out four to six weeks . Before doing so , however , he became the third tight end in NFL history ( after Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates ) to achieve three seasons with at least 10 touchdown receptions , and the first ever to do it in consecutive seasons . Gronkowski returned to practice in Week 15 , and participated in the Week 17 game against the Miami Dolphins , scoring a touchdown . He reinjured his left arm in the first quarter of the Patriots ' first playoff game , against the Houston Texans . According to ESPN , he required another surgery , and would miss the rest of the 2012 season .