Rob Gronkowski claims that the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were more talented than his New England Patriots teams. He is expected to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027.
Key points
Rob Gronkowski claims 2020 Bucs were more talented than his Patriots teams
Gronkowski expected to be inducted into Hall of Fame in 2027
He won three Super Bowl championships with the Patriots
Gronkowski is a four-time All-Pro and All-Decade Team member
Mentioned in this story
Rob Gronkowski
New England PatriotsTampa Bay BuccaneersPro Football Hall of Fame
Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, where enshrinees are depicted on plaques, typically wearing the hat of one of the clubs they played for, Pro Football Hall of Famers are celebrated with bronze busts that merely celebrate the man, not the team or teams he played for.
Whenever legendary NFL star Rob Gronkowski is welcomed into Canton − and that should be on the first ballot in the summer of 2027 − he will largely, and justifiably, be remembered for his tenure with the New England Patriots, for whom he was a four-time All-Pro, member of the Hall's All-Decade Team for the 2010s and a three-time Super Bowl champion. Teamed with quarterback Tom Brady, the ever-affable and quotable "Gronk" crafted a strong case as the greatest tight end in league history.
Yet if you'd already forgotten about his one-year retirement in 2019 or the two years he played with Brady and the Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and '21, Gronkowski made something of a surprise revelation recently on the "4th and South" podcast with former Bucs teammate Leonard Fournette and ex-NFL wideout Jarvis Landry.
Asked if the 2020 Buccaneers, who dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl 55, were the best team he ever played for, Gronkowski replied, "Skill-wise, I think that team was probably the best skill set team I’ve ever been on throughout my career.
And, of course, TB12 behind center in the season when he won his seventh Lombardi Trophy, more than any NFL franchise has.
Gronkowski cited the excellent camaraderie of that Bucs squad and a team-first attitude but also admitted the COVID-19 pandemic made it easier to focus on football that year while outside distractions like partying weren't necessarily options during the lockdown.
"That was one of the best runs I’ve ever been a part of throughout my NFL career. And it was a different style run, too, because we all came together late in that season," said Gronkowski. "Like, the team was put together throughout the offseason, then you came during training camp and everyone was still trying to figure it out. We had some good games, we had some bad games, and then we went on a bye week. And when we came back from that bye week, just everyone started clicking with each other and everyone understood their assignment. Everyone knew how each other − our skill sets worked together and how to work off of each other.
"We went undefeated from there. Won eight in a row – four of the last regular-season games to get into the playoffs and then four playoff games in a row. ... And we were rewarded by winning all those games on the road by having the Super Bowl in our own stadium in Tampa Bay, which was the first time a team won a Super Bowl in their home stadium."
He also shared other fascinating insights, including a window into his time with the Patriots.
"I’ve been part of Super Bowl runs where we start scrambling late in the week," said Gronkowski, further comparing his New England experience with Tampa Bay and the lead-up to Super Bowl 55 against Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Chiefs.
"But we (2020 Bucs) really stuck to our gameplan. It was the same exact plays on the script that we were working on for those final two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. And we executed those plays like we did throughout the whole time we were practicing. And that’s when I felt like we were going to handle them pretty well, was just the practices leading up to the Super Bowl."
Added Gronkowski: "I would say it was one of the hardest playoff runs in the history of football," noting Tampa Bay traveled the more arduous wild-card route.
"When we got to the Super Bowl, we just put it together as a team. It was the best complementary football that you could have possibly played for a Super Bowl."
While briefly entertaining the differences between Pats coach Bill Belichick and the Bucs' Bruce Arians − and Gronkowski enjoyed Arians' hands-on offensive approach, which largely differed from Belichick − he also poked some holes in the supposed "Patriot Way," credited for so much of New England's success across its two-decade dynastic run.
Feb 4, 2020; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette (28) with quarterback Tom Brady (12) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2020; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette (28) with quarterback Tom Brady (12) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
"It’s like a myth, but it’s not a myth. Like, it’s true, but it’s not truly true," Gronkowski said of the supposed organizational philosophy Belichick adhered to for nearly 25 years.
"Because there was never like, 'Alright, this is the Patriot Way.' It was never like explained like that. Belichick was never like, 'Patriot Way, this is how you do it.' We never said the 'Patriot Way,' ever, in the locker room. That kinda became a thing with the media and outside people looking in.
"But there was a standard. That’s more like it. There’s a standard to be held accountable every single day at a high level – to show up and put the best work that you could possibly put in, and gain the trust of your teammates on a daily basis. That's the standard. ... And it made you a better player. It made you a better person as well. I was blessed when I went to New England as well because I kind of needed that in my life, because I was a freelancer out there.
"So having that structure was phenomenal for me. Big time."
Among other notable topics Gronk dished on with Landry and Fournette were his most legendary party moments, business advice − including what he learned from Kobe Bryant − his injury history and whether he has yet to spend any of the money earned during his NFL career after famously squirreling it away since being drafted in 2010.
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