It’s not even 7am but on radio row during Super Bowl week, Rob Gronkowski is bringing the noise.
He steps away from the Good Morning Football set, where he’d just been dissecting the chances of his beloved New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, by high-fiving his hosts, slapping the table and whooping with joy.
Without further ado, the four-time Super Bowl champion grabs his breakfast burrito and strides over to the Daily Mail to talk more football. His excitement couldn’t be higher if he was lining up to play at the weekend.
‘One game left already,’ he says, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘Football is so awesome, it makes time fly. So many incredible games this season, such an incredible playoffs, it flew by, it really did. It brings so much joy to everyone’s lives.’
None more so than Gronkowski. He takes an almighty bite of his burrito and, with great urgency, underlines just how big a win for the Patriots over the Seattle Seahawks could be on Sunday in San Francisco.
‘The Patriots are back,’ he announces, beaming. ‘It’s a Super Bowl rematch of Super Bowl 49, the first Super Bowl I won and kicked off the second part of the dynasty for the New England Patriots.
Few people love Super Bowl week like Rob Gronkowski, who spoke to Daily Mail on radio row
Gronk won four Super Bowl titles in his career, three with the New England Patriots
‘This could be kick off the third part of the dynasty for the Patriots. Why not? You’ve got (Mike) Vrabel in his first year with the Patriots, Drake Maye (the quarterback) in his second year in the NFL, a tremendous player. It is just wild to see how the Patriots have turned it around from last year.’
His head shakes in disbelief again. But disbelief turns to incredulity when he’s asked to sum up his former coach, Bill Belichick, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft not making the Hall of Fame.
‘No coach is ever going to get in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot now,’ he says. ‘If coach Belichick hasn’t, well then I don’t see it ever happening now. It’s not possible.
‘It’s the greatest organization in all football, the winningest,’ he continued. ‘Those two are deserving to go in the football hall of fame. It’s going to happen, obviously, but it’s a disappointment they weren’t first ballot. Kraft should be there already.’
There has been reports that Belichick, 73, will have a party thrown for him deliberately timed to clash with the Hall of Fame induction day in August by his girlfriend, the 24-year-old Jordon Hudson. She is apparently considering inviting the great and the good of the Patriots.
‘I haven’t had an invite yet,’ Gronkowski said, seemingly hearing about the party for the first time. ‘Whenever it happens, I hope they throw the biggest party because he deserves it.’
Belichick was the mastermind behind Gronk’s three Patriots Super Bowls while Tom Brady was the quarterback throwing the ball. In those glory days, Gronk was renowned for his unrivaled blend of physicality and speed – something he says he harnessed on the dancefloor.
‘When I was going ham back in the day, in my young buck era in my 20s, I was going out all the time,’ he says, laughing. ‘It kept me in shape, made me quick when I was out on the football field because I would be dancing on the dancefloor for two hours and kept my cardio up!
Gronk joked that his old teammate Brady needs to get much better at dancing
Gronk, pictured with girlfriend Camile, said that partying kept him fit and healthy years ago
‘That was how I contributed you know to staying in shape but staying in shape while partying. The partying can knock you out of shape but I was dancing for so long it kind of counter-acted the partying.’
Former teammate Brady isn’t quite in his young buck era but is enjoying the single life at age 48. On New Year’s Eve, he was pictured dancing in St Barths with the influencer Alix Earle, only weeks after the 25-year-old had split with Houston Texans wide reciever Braxton Berrios.
The videos of the two getting handsy went viral and Gronk had some sympathy for his old friend – while telling him what he needs to work on to up his game.
‘It is hard, he’s a very iconic figure and it is tough to be on at all times,’ he said. ‘I feel for him at times. I can go places with him, and I can have tonnes of attention by myself but when he comes around and not one person will pay attention to me and even now it’s like “woah, that must be tough to deal with”.
‘But he’s such a pro, he knows how to handle all situations and give as much as possible to everyone out there.
‘He’s in phenomenal shape, top shape, he’s probably the best 48-year-old in shape for that age, the guy’s a specimen. He can throw a football like no other at any given time but he needs to work on his dance moves! He does!
‘He needs to watch some of my clips when I was in my twenties. I’ll send them to him, I will!’
Gronkowski has been thrilled by the impact of Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel at his old team
The Patriots hero backed his team to win Sunday’s Super Bowl against Seattle Seahawks
Gronkowski, talking on behalf of Fan Duel and their Last Call for Football campaign, has a small bite of his burrito left before he joins Kay Adams for her morning show. So to end, he makes a prediciton for Sunday’s game.
‘I’m going for the same score as Super Bowl 49, Patriots 28, Seattle 24, it just makes sense man, it really does,’ he says, before naming the two players he can’t wait to see.
‘Kenneth Walker is running like an absolute beast out there for the Seattle Seahawks, running like he’s angry and he’s going to be a difference maker. For the Patriots, Stefon Diggs has been a little quiet in the playoffs but they have been winning games. This is his moment to really step up.’
And with that, he holds out a giant hand for a handshake and marches off. There’s clearly nothing like Super Bowl week for Gronk, even now.
Rob Gronkowski was speaking as part of FanDuel’s Super Bowl campaign, Last Call For Football, which is both a celebration of this season’s best moments and a rallying cry to enjoy football’s final night of the year
