- 5 months ago
The four-time Super Bowl champion on how he went from party boy to businessman by leveraging his fame and larger-than-life personality. And he’s only getting bigger.
0:00 Cultivating a Persona
0:34 Finding Balance After Retirement
4:05 Rookie Investing Mistakes And Winning Strategic Investments
9:12 Lessons Learned Playing In The NFL
24:23 Transition To Television
32:43 Gronk's Podcast Transition
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/08/17/inside-rob-gronkowskis-beautiful-mind/
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0:00 Cultivating a Persona
0:34 Finding Balance After Retirement
4:05 Rookie Investing Mistakes And Winning Strategic Investments
9:12 Lessons Learned Playing In The NFL
24:23 Transition To Television
32:43 Gronk's Podcast Transition
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/08/17/inside-rob-gronkowskis-beautiful-mind/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
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More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00You know, with that persona and everything, you know, people kind of thought I was just a dumb jock, a dumb Polak at first.
00:06So I kind of played into that character sometimes, not all times, but when it was necessary.
00:12And then I go in, you know, I answer everything I need to answer.
00:15I do everything I need to do.
00:16I knock it out of the park and they're just sitting there like, oh man, like, dang, this guy legit.
00:30Rob Minkowski, thanks for being here with us.
00:37Yeah, Justin, thank you for having me, man.
00:39So when most people retire, they tend to slow down, take it easy.
00:43It feels like you're busier than ever.
00:44How do you make that all work?
00:46You know, when people usually retire, they're about 75, 70 years old, 80 years old.
00:53I retired from the game of football at the age of 29 and at the age of 32.
00:58And like, that's not an age to truly retire from life and just sit back.
01:05You know, I believe in balance big time.
01:08I believe that you should really, truly never stop working.
01:13Maybe not a full-time schedule, you know, 24-7, you know, seven days a week.
01:18But I like that true balance of having three days on, you know, four days off or four or five days on, two, three days off.
01:25It seems like I'm really, really busy because a lot of it has to do with television commercials and being on TV.
01:32What kind of, you know, daunts on me a little bit is the travel.
01:37You know, you got to pick and choose your battles with the game of travel.
01:41You know, flying in an airplane, you know, every single day gets tough.
01:45You know, your immune system starts to break down a little bit.
01:47And I truly believe health is wealth.
01:50And if you got your health, you got everything in life.
01:53So I always put my health first when I start getting run down a little bit.
01:57I like to take a break what's going on in my life just so I can get home.
02:01And also, I don't really plan my schedule anymore to have it, you know, fully booked because I really do like to take care of my health.
02:09So I'm always feeling good when the opportunities come and when I got to present myself to a crowd or whatever I'm doing.
02:16Yeah. So what's your routine look like generally then?
02:18You know, obviously you mentioned traveling a lot.
02:20You know, where are you spending most of your time?
02:22How often are you actually in studio working, doing this or that?
02:25It's all over the place.
02:26I got so many different jobs.
02:28It's unbelievable.
02:29And that's also why people think I'm just such a busy guy as well because they see me doing so many different, you know, activations or activities or campaigns or whatever it is.
02:41But my schedule when I'm downtime, which I love, I love my downtime.
02:46That's when I really work out hard.
02:48I build up my strength.
02:49I build up my body so then I can go on a 10-day bender of travel and work and feel strong throughout those 10 days.
02:56Because when I'm working every single day and I'm traveling a lot, I don't really like to work out as hard because then you can get beat down.
03:04You've got to recover.
03:05So I really like to get those workouts in because I've been working out my whole entire life and playing sports my whole entire life.
03:10So it's just within me still to this day to stay in shape.
03:14It's just what I do and it's what I've been doing my whole entire life.
03:17So, like, those workouts, boom, when I'm home for three to four days, I hit those hard.
03:22I hit the sauna hard.
03:23I get massages, you know, so I can stay relaxed, you know, stress-free.
03:27And then, boom, I go and hit the road hard.
03:30You know, I land in L.A.
03:31I sometimes, you know, shoot a commercial for two days straight and then go do a speaking gig, you know, that's possibly an hour away from L.A.
03:42or right in L.A. or on my way to L.A.
03:44Stop, make a pit stop and do the speaking gig.
03:47So it varies all over the place, my schedule.
03:50And just never know what's going to pop up as well.
03:54So that's why I also don't like to stay fully booked because if something great pops up that's within five days, you know, I tend to like to have the opportunity to decide if I can do it or not.
04:05So when you're evaluating all these opportunities, these business deals, what are you looking for?
04:09What stands out to you?
04:10Why do you cast the net so wide?
04:13Yes.
04:13Well, back in the day, you know, when I first got in the NFL, you kind of tend to take any opportunity that's presented to you.
04:25And that's when you learn.
04:26You know, that's when the growing pains happen.
04:28You're like, oh, my gosh, this sounds great.
04:29This person's paying me this much.
04:31I don't even know what the product is.
04:33I don't even know how they're using me, how they're utilizing me, how they're marketing me.
04:38It's just like you're looking at the dollar sign and you think it's glorious because you're just getting out of college.
04:44You're 22, 23, 24 years old.
04:47And then in the long run, you kind of realize that that didn't work out.
04:51It wasn't sustainable.
04:53The dollar amount didn't really make sense.
04:55I was representing a product that was who knows what that really didn't work.
04:59And I wasn't there for the consumer, you know, that was consuming that product and who we were marketing to.
05:05So I tend to, you know, I tended to learn all of my mistakes when I was young, just like anybody else in life.
05:14And you got to go through life to understand, you know, what mistakes are.
05:19And now I truly love to focus on things that, you know, that represent me, that I love to wear.
05:26Say for a clothing brand, I love I'm not going to represent a clothing brand unless if I love to wear it.
05:31A shoe brand, I'm not going to represent a shoe brand unless if I love to wear it and so on with everything else.
05:38And I got so many endorsements from a shoe brand, from a clothing brand.
05:42I'm with Wolf and Shepard.
05:44I'm with Built Basics with the clothing brand all the way to FanDuel.
05:49You know, it just fits the mold and they're a fun company as well.
05:52And then there's just, you know, so many other things, you know, that play in the factor.
05:57You know, sometimes it's the paycheck as well.
05:58Still, the money can represent, you know, why I'm going to represent a company, even if I tend to not use that company as much as I do with others.
06:09You know, but if the paycheck's right and it fits my brand of like a high-end company, a company that's going to utilize me in the right way by marketing me in the right way, it tends to settle in and be a nice fit as well.
06:24How often are you turning things down?
06:26I turn a lot down.
06:27I would say, because people sometimes come up to me like, dude, how do you do everything?
06:32You don't turn down anything.
06:33I'm like, I literally turned down probably about, well, if everything hit my desk, I would say I turned down about 95% of the things.
06:43But the people that represent me aren't going to just bring everything to my desk and say, hey, you want to do this?
06:50Hey, you want to do this?
06:50They already know ahead of time, hey, we're not even going to present this to Rob because it's already going to be a no.
06:57But say like things that are big, that make sense for myself, I would say I turn down about 50% of the offers then because it gets overwhelming.
07:07It really does.
07:09I don't want to be overused as well.
07:12I don't want to be oversaturated in the market, which can easily be done.
07:16But about 50% of what is presented, I just thank them for thinking about me, which is amazing that these offers are coming in.
07:29I'm able to be able to turn them down because I have so many others that I'm already with.
07:34What's the strangest thing you've ever done?
07:36Oh, the strangest thing I've ever done, like as in like a company I represented.
07:43Endorsement, business deal, investment, anything.
07:46Investment wise, oh man, I kind of got duped with this like, like Moji, like, you know, those Mojis, like all the smiley faces and all that, like that one was strange.
08:02Yeah, that one was strange.
08:05It sounded really good at the time because that's when like it was all taking off, like Snapchat was taking off and you were sending smiley faces and text messages.
08:14So like you thought Mojis, Mojis, that's what they're called.
08:17So it was kind of like a Moji and like I got involved and like it just wasn't going anywhere.
08:24And I really realized that like after the first week and I was like, ah, crap, like how do I get out of this?
08:29But I couldn't.
08:30And then eventually I got out of it.
08:31But yeah, you know, it was it was weird.
08:35You know, you got to do your homework definitely before you sign on to something, you know, especially when it's going to be a big campaign and it's representing who you are, too.
08:45So I really like, you know, to work with the big high end companies that are established already that kind of like are winners that already won some Super Bowls just like myself.
08:58That's funny.
09:00So you turn pro at 20.
09:02When does this idea of, you know, doing business off the field come like as a young player, you know, I'm sure establishing yourself in the NFL is probably the number one thing on your mind.
09:12But when did you start thinking about like, OK, endorsements, business, you know, managing my money?
09:17When does that come into your mind?
09:18I would say right off the bat, you know, obviously football was my first priority and was always my first priority when I was playing the game.
09:29I mean, it has to be just how grueling the schedule is, just how much you got to take care of yourself, your mind, your body physically.
09:38So football was always first.
09:40And if it ever got to the point where I was doing too much off the field, like I noticed my football play started going down and that was a bad thing.
09:50That was going to ruin all of my chances off the field because I learned as well.
09:55A nice little lesson is that, hey, if I'm performing out on the football field, well, then everything off the field is going to take care of itself.
10:03And those opportunities are going to be presented to me.
10:06So as I was, you know, becoming bigger in the NFL and more established, I kind of had a good feel for, you know, what was going on because I was taking little deals right from the beginning.
10:22I always had that that, you know, brainpower to want to take deals as well and understand what's going on and be business savvy as well as a football player.
10:35You know, my dad's been in the business world for 35 years in the fitness industry.
10:41You know, you get a marketing team for you when you sign with an agent.
10:45So the marketing deals, you know, were always cool.
10:49And I love the marketing deals from the very beginning.
10:52And one guy that I always looked up to was Doug Flutie.
10:55You know, I'm from Buffalo.
10:56When he was on the Buffalo Bills, he had the Fruity Flakes.
10:59Fruity Flakes.
11:00I said Fruity Flakes.
11:01But Fruity Pebbles, but Flutie Flakes.
11:05And that was just so cool.
11:08Like when I was just a kid and I was pouring a bowl of cereal, you know, right in front of my face.
11:15And it was Doug Flutie on the box.
11:17Like I thought that was the coolest thing, you know, ever.
11:20So that's kind of like when my mind started triggering.
11:25Like, oh, that could be me one day if I make it big.
11:29You famously have said that you never spend any of your game checks.
11:32Lived off your endorsement money, put that stuff away.
11:35So two parts to that.
11:36One, is that still the case?
11:37And two, what did you do with that money?
11:39How did you grow that?
11:40Yes.
11:41Well, how I managed to do that is that my agent gave me a $50,000, you know, upfront marketing fee.
11:52Like marketing check.
11:53In advance.
11:54In advance.
11:54Marketing advance.
11:55Yes.
11:56$50,000 advance, you know, for what's going to come in the marketing world for myself.
12:02And then I just had to pay them back within the first $50,000 I made.
12:06So with that $50,000, I was able to, you know, purchase my first car, which was a 2008 Escalade, which was super dope.
12:16I absolutely loved it to the T.
12:19I loved my Escalade so much.
12:22That was my first purchase.
12:23And then to be able to pay rent once I got to New England.
12:26And then from there on out, I really didn't need any other money.
12:30You know, I was getting free meals at the facility.
12:32You know, I just kind of needed gas money, I guess.
12:37You know, you go out, the drinks are free or you pay for one, you get 10 free when you're on the Patriots up in the Boston area.
12:45So I wasn't really spending much money at all, especially when it got to the season.
12:50I mean, you're inside that building and everything's handed to you on a daily basis from breakfast all the way, you know, to dinner.
12:58So I just lived off of my marketing dollars.
13:02I had a couple of marketing gigs come in at the very beginning as well.
13:05I started scoring touchdowns my rookie year.
13:08So, you know, I was out there.
13:09So, you know, they were low-level gigs at the time, but I was living a low-level life.
13:14You know, I had a condo with a roommate that was on the team as well.
13:19We're paying $1,500 a month in rent while in the NFL.
13:23I mean, that's nothing, you know, you got to love it.
13:25So I was very frugal, and that's how I got away with it, you know, not, you know, having any lavish purchases, you know, the first couple years in the league and just banking away what I was making.
13:36Because I truly understood that the NFL, you know, they say that's what it stands for is not for long, NFL.
13:44So I understood that, and I wanted to be set when I was done with my career as well.
13:49And I wanted to be set if I just played three, four years.
13:53I was cool with making what I was going to make my rookie year, you know, with my rookie contract, which was $4 million.
14:00It was a four-year, $4 million deal.
14:02And I was like, wait, if I play all four, I make a million dollars a year.
14:05And if I put that in the bank and I just invest a little bit, I can get a return of like $100,000, $150,000.
14:12I was like, I'm set for life, you know.
14:15But everything took off from there.
14:17Do you have any business mentors, people who influenced you, whether it was in the locker room or other walks of life that really said, you know, hey, you should be looking at this, looking at that.
14:24I'm sure it doesn't hurt sharing a locker room with Tom Brady.
14:27He was like one of the great athlete entrepreneurs.
14:29But I'm curious, who influenced you?
14:31Who taught you kind of the ropes in that regard?
14:33Well, Tom Brady, you know, when I got to the NFL, he didn't really like, you know, bring me through the ropes.
14:41But just watching him, you know, go through that, you know, and representing brands and being an ambassador, not just on the field, but off the field.
14:51And he was one of the few, you know, one of the select few in the NFL to be able to do that, you know, during his career.
14:58There's not many that are great football players, but also a great ambassador for companies and doing commercials.
15:04There's only a select few.
15:06So just watching him go through the process, you know, you pick up on that.
15:09You see what he's doing, how he's doing it, how he's still balling out on the football field.
15:13And that's most important to him as well as making sure he is balling out on the football field.
15:17Because if you're not, then all those things off the field aren't going to come anymore.
15:21So football was always first.
15:23And that's what was huge, you know, is to always put football first.
15:27And then my father as well, you know, he put me through the ropes.
15:30He was a businessman.
15:31He is still a businessman.
15:32You know, deals coming my way, you know, deciphering what I should do, what I shouldn't do, what fits me, all that good stuff.
15:41And then my agents helped me out as well.
15:43Drew Rosenhaus, when I signed with his team, you know, they brought deals to the table.
15:48And then what was most important, I would say, is just going through the experience and learning for yourself.
15:56You know, you definitely got to do that.
15:58It's like going out on that football field and getting whomped by a linebacker and getting absolutely dominated by a defense alignment.
16:05Hey, I got to go back in the lap.
16:06I got to go get stronger.
16:08You know, I figured it out myself what I got to do to compete out on that football field.
16:12And that's the same thing with deals that were coming my way.
16:15Whoa, like I took that one.
16:16That one really didn't fit me.
16:18I didn't really like that company either.
16:20I didn't like working with them.
16:21I'm not going to do that again.
16:22Or, whoa, that was awesome working with them.
16:24I'm going to really, you know, show them I appreciated them and I'm going to keep, you know, doing my best efforts so I can stick with them and keep growing with them.
16:32And that's what I really learned, too, as well, is not just one-offs.
16:36One-offs are cool, but they don't, you know, blossom you.
16:41One-offs don't, you know, produce how you really want to produce, you know, throughout your whole entire career and after your career, your post-career.
16:50When you can stick with a company, you know, for five, six, seven years and multiple companies as well, that just shows your capabilities.
16:59It shows that you're marketable.
17:02It shows that you have a strong, like, strong business behind who you are.
17:10So that's huge.
17:12So one-offs, I learned, are cool, but what matters most is being able to stick with companies and campaigns for, you know, a generational run.
17:20Yeah, yeah.
17:21No, that makes sense.
17:22Flashing back a little bit, you know, in the early days of your career, you kind of cultivated this persona, the wild man, the party boy.
17:28You know, I think we've all seen the video, dancing on stage for LMFAO.
17:31Yeah.
17:31You talk to your partners at Nuthouse, some people at Fox now, and they say that you're not really like that anymore.
17:37So how would you describe Rob Krakowski as who he is today?
17:40Yes, I've definitely grown.
17:42There's no doubt about that.
17:44And it's something to be proud of, too, you know.
17:47I was a wild man, you know, from 16 years old all the way to about, you know, 25, and then it started, you know, slowing down a little bit.
17:57But I was still a wild man, 26, 27, you know, there and there.
18:01And then, you know, you feel that affection of going out, not getting a lot of sleep, you know.
18:08You're not being able to produce how you want to produce out in the football field.
18:12And that persona at the beginning was great because I was a 21-year-old, 22-year-old, 23-year-old badass with a lot of energy.
18:19Nothing was taking me down.
18:20And it helped me become the player that I was out in the football field, too, because that persona was the type of player I was, too.
18:27I'm going to go out tonight.
18:28I'm going to go ham.
18:29You know, I'm going to dance with everyone.
18:31I'm going to show everyone that I'm the most juiced on the dance floor.
18:34And then I'd wake up in the morning, and then I'd be like, you know, that same, you know, that same itch that I had going out, I would bring to the weight room.
18:45I'm going to go to most ham in the weight room.
18:47I'm going to be the strongest guy, you know, in this weight room.
18:50And then I'm going to bring it out to the field.
18:52No one's going to tackle me.
18:53Everything was just full go.
18:54I'm going to make this catch.
18:55I'm going to make this play.
18:56So everything was just full go.
18:58And that persona just came to me as well.
19:02It wasn't like it was force.
19:03It was just me being me.
19:05I would say that my fans, you know, kind of blew up to persona even more than myself because I was just being myself.
19:14And they all loved it.
19:15And they would egg it on.
19:16And then, you know, once they started egging it on, I would fall for it.
19:20And I would take it to a whole other level.
19:22But now, to this day, you know, you grow up, you know.
19:26I can't be going out until 4 a.m. and then wake up at 7 a.m. and try to get everything I need to get done.
19:33Like, I started hurting a little bit.
19:35Actually, not just a little bit.
19:36I started hurting a lot of it.
19:38But I still love to have fun.
19:39I still love to bring the energy to the table.
19:42And when I party, I say I like to party during the day, you know, from morning to night.
19:46And then I got to make sure I get my sleep.
19:47And every once in a while, you know, you got to throw it back.
19:51You got to throw it back to, you know, just keep yourself, you know, you know, keep yourself, I would say.
19:58Feeling young.
19:59Yeah, feeling young.
20:01But to show that you still got it as well, you know, to show the young bucks that you're still there.
20:08That even though whatever age I am, you know, how many injuries I've ever had, I can still show up when I need to show up.
20:14Yeah, no, that's fair.
20:16Do you find that, you know, this reputation that it's preceded you at times that, in some cases, people look at you and they're like, oh, Gronk's the wild man, party boy.
20:24How's he been able to kind of find so much success with business investing, endorsements, business deals?
20:30Do you find that people almost underestimate you kind of from the reputation of your earlier in your career?
20:35I would say so.
20:37Definitely, you know, throughout the beginnings of my career, you know.
20:42Like, even, you know, going into shoots and, like, representing a company, like, when I first got there, I could tell that they would think I'm, like, ditzy a little bit, you know.
20:54And, like, I kind of played into it then, you know.
20:59And it was kind of how I was on the football field at first as well.
21:03You know, I always kind of humbled myself before I ever started anything because I didn't love to make the expectations up here.
21:10I've done that before.
21:12And I feel like if the expectations are up here from the very beginning, well, then you can't really succeed the expectations.
21:21And that's kind of how I was on the football field as well.
21:24I went in, you know.
21:26I love to stay humble, you know.
21:28I've been, you know, greeted before when I was getting a little cocky.
21:32And I've been humbled before out on the football field plenty of times in my life when I thought I was an absolute man.
21:39You know, and then, boom, you get your knees chopped out of you just like that.
21:43And I learned that in the business world as well.
21:46But, you know, with that persona and everything, you know, people kind of thought I was just a dumb jock, a dumb polack at first.
21:54It's kind of been like that a little bit throughout my life because I wouldn't say, you know, I'm a bigger guy.
22:02And when bigger guys, you know, are trying to do something, it takes a lot more energy and sometimes it's slower, you know.
22:09So, you think big guys are all just big dumb jocks.
22:11Sometimes it takes me a little bit longer to figure things out as well.
22:15But I always know what's going on around me and I always knew it too.
22:19So, I kind of played into that character sometimes.
22:21Not all times, but when it was necessary.
22:24And I love to spin circles around people too.
22:27Like, oh, this guy is a freaking idiot, you know.
22:30And then I go in, you know, I answer everything I need to answer.
22:33I do everything I need to do.
22:34I knock it out of the park and they're just sitting there like, oh, man, like, dang, this guy legit.
22:40Like, I thought he was an idiot.
22:41So, then, boom, I succeeded expectations right there as well.
22:44But I didn't really get bothered by it either, you know.
22:49Not one single bit because I truly knew who I am, you know, who I was and who I am.
22:55So, you know, that persona or that expectations didn't ever bother me, you know.
23:01Well, I'm glad you mentioned that because, like, you know, famously, that type of typecasting, like the meathead, the dumb jock or whatever.
23:08You know, Tom Brady has this roast and Nikki Glaser comes up there and she's got a Gronk joke in her set.
23:12And the first person they show is you laughing, you know.
23:14You have kind of this sense of humor and this affability, which I think is rare.
23:18So, that doesn't bother you.
23:20It's kind of like you just laugh your way to the bank in the end.
23:22Exactly.
23:23You know, you laugh your way to the bank.
23:26So many people have said that to me before.
23:27They're like, yo, Gronk, you got everyone fooled.
23:29You're just laughing your way to the bank.
23:31And, like, I just turn around.
23:33Like, some random people just sometimes come up to me and say that.
23:36And I just turn around and I laugh.
23:38And I'm like, dude, give me some knuckles, baby.
23:41But it's a fun persona as well, you know.
23:44I would say I like it because you're bringing fun to the table, you know.
23:48You're not taking yourself serious.
23:51You're lighting up a room when you walk in the room because it's not like, oh, Gronk's here.
23:55Like, oh, everyone's got to be serious.
23:57It's like, oh, we can dance.
23:58He's dancing.
23:59He's successful.
24:00You know, he won Super Bowls.
24:01He's always having a good time.
24:03He's not uptight.
24:04I would say that's more what it's about instead of, you know.
24:09And I can handle the jokes, you know.
24:11You got to be able to handle the jokes.
24:13If I couldn't handle the jokes, I wouldn't be where I am, you know, right now.
24:18Sitting here doing an interview with you, Justin, for Forbes magazine was just incredible.
24:23Yeah, yeah.
24:24So in 2019, you joined Fox as an NFL analyst.
24:27I'm wondering, in post-retirement, was that something you had your eye on?
24:31Was that a breakthrough moment for you?
24:33Actually, you're going to be the first person that I've ever told this to.
24:37But I rarely ever even watched a pregame show because I was playing the game of football.
24:45And our games usually kick off at 1 o'clock, and the pregame show was from 12 to 1.
24:49So I rarely ever seen an NFL kickoff show.
24:54You know, every once in a while when I was watching Monday Night Football or Sunday Night Football or something because I played in the 1 o'clock game or we had a bye week.
25:01Like, you know, I never tend to turn on the pregame show, you know.
25:06I always just turned on the game whenever it came on.
25:10And when I got myself, you know, into this with Fox, I really didn't know what I was getting into.
25:19You know, it was the pregame show.
25:21You're going to talk football.
25:22You know, I've seen a little bit of it.
25:24I didn't really know the ins and outs at all.
25:27This is what you're going to do.
25:28It was kind of going to be more of like a trial at first.
25:31It wasn't like I was going to be thrown into the mix big time.
25:35And so when I signed up for it, I didn't know exactly what I was even signing up for, you know, to the T, you know.
25:42And I kind of just did it because it had to do with football.
25:48And I was like, oh, I know football inside and out.
25:52It was a job as well.
25:53You know, I wasn't just going to sit around, just be retired, sit on the couch, not do anything.
26:00You know, I like to stay active.
26:01I like to keep my brain going, keep utilizing it.
26:04So when that opportunity came, you know, I was in for one.
26:09And then once I started understanding the ins and outs, I understand, you know, what was going on around me, how everything was done, how TV and production is all done.
26:18I started to get into a flow, started to enjoy the process.
26:22But even at first, when I made my introduction to the TV world on Thursday Night Football, you know, I started it with a banger.
26:31I for sure did when I talked about Julian Edelman and how he always, you know, gets that nut in the end zone.
26:36He always finds that nut and the nut is that football and he always scores by getting into that end zone.
26:41So that was a huge way to start my broadcasting career.
26:45Well, let me ask you, how tough is the learning curve?
26:47Because it's not easy to jump into a completely new career.
26:49How did you get better with it?
26:50Yes, no, it's not.
26:53You know, when you got like one, a one off that day, when you just got to talk about one little thing, it's easy.
26:59But when you have a full day ahead of you, you got to react to the game.
27:03You got a list of topics that you got to talk about and you got to be informative about the topics that you're talking about.
27:10And it's not a team that you're familiar with as well.
27:12Because there's 32 teams in the NFL, there's 53 guys on each team.
27:16That's over like 1,500 players that you got to possibly know as well.
27:20That's when things get difficult.
27:21Talking about the New England Patriots and my teammates that I formerly played with for 10 years, that's easy.
27:27But to talk about other guys that you really never seen before, that you got to watch some film about them, break them down.
27:33You know, that's when it gets a little bit more difficult.
27:35So doing the repetitions helped big time, being around guys like Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, you know, Kurt Menefee, who's our host, Michael Strahan, Holly Long.
27:46Like those guys are pro-pros.
27:48And just being around them, seeing how they go about their business, seeing how, you know, they plan right there before we go live on air and what they do to be prepared as well before they go live on air.
27:58I mean, to learn from those guys and just be around them and just pick up a little, you know, ounce or two from them of what to do is just very beneficial and helps out big time.
28:09Yeah, I can imagine.
28:10And they did get you a little bit with a prank, though.
28:12So it seems like the camaraderie is pretty strong there.
28:15Are you planning to get them back in any way?
28:17Any thoughts on that?
28:18Yes.
28:18And when they got me, it was good.
28:20You know, there's when you got in a little extra time on air and they call it the fifth round.
28:26And you're not sure if there's going to be a fifth round or not that day, depending on if everyone went over with how long they were talking for and all that good stuff.
28:34And then, boom, they're like, OK, fifth round we got.
28:36And then they start going off.
28:37We're live.
28:38And then they just start going off about Rich Russo, how he's just coming back from injury and that, you know, he's going to be on the Dallas Cowboys and all that good stuff.
28:48Rich Russo is one of the production managers.
28:50He works, you know, with all the cameras and does all that, you know, good stuff.
28:55And I didn't know who Rich Russo was.
28:57So I didn't know the name.
28:59And they knew I wasn't going to know the name.
29:01So that was part of the prank as well, me not knowing everybody's name in the building.
29:05And that's how it starts.
29:07And I just started thinking in my head, like, man, do I belong here?
29:12This guy is a tight end for the Dallas Cowboys, America's team.
29:17And I don't know who he is.
29:20Do I really belong here as an analyst?
29:23Like, that's what was going through my head.
29:25How do I not know who this player is?
29:27They're talking him up big time.
29:29And I'm just sitting there like, how do I get out of this?
29:32So I just started bringing up Jake Ferguson, who just, you know, started booming on the scene that year with the Dallas Cowboys.
29:42And I was a big fan of him.
29:43I was a big fan of his game.
29:45So I just kept going back to, hey, what about Jake Ferguson?
29:49You know, they're going to be a good tandem.
29:51But I really like Jake Ferguson.
29:52I don't know how he's going to take his job.
29:54So that's part of the play as being an analyst is kind of BSing your way through.
30:00One, you need to BS your way through.
30:02And if you can do that, then, you know, you're sitting in pretty good hands.
30:06And am I going to get the guys back?
30:08I would probably say no.
30:10You know, that was kind of my rookie, you know, initiation, you know, into the crew.
30:16And they're too experienced.
30:17They got too many years, you know, underneath their belt.
30:22I mean, Michael Strahan is the second youngest one there.
30:25And he's been part of the crew for 15, 16 years now.
30:29So I don't think I can come up with a prank to get him back.
30:32But if one does present itself, then possibly.
30:34But we'll see.
30:36What is being on such a, like, a widespread platform like Fox NFL Sunday do for your other businesses?
30:40Does that open new doors, create new opportunities?
30:43Definitely.
30:44Because while you're playing the game of football, you're always wearing a helmet, you know.
30:49And that's why sometimes, you know, companies and brands stay away from you because people don't know your face.
30:56And now being on TV, you know, people see your face on a daily basis and they know what you look like.
31:04So now brands love that.
31:05Companies love that because now they can utilize you, you know, and present you and market you because now everyone's seeing your face.
31:12There was one, you know, huge thing that I've learned that they said about Shaq.
31:19The people that throw my grunk beach parties throw Shaq's Funhouse.
31:23And Shaq's Funhouse was going on before I even threw my grunk beach parties.
31:27And the people that at Medium Rare that represent Shaq for the Shaq's Funhouse, they told me with Shaq, hey, you know,
31:35all the companies and brands stayed away from Shaq when he retired from a game of basketball.
31:41Even though, you know, he doesn't have the helmet on or anything, he was such a well-known name.
31:45They're like, well, there's, you know, there's nothing else left.
31:48And then the second he signed, you know, on the NBA show with TNT, they said it just took off like they'd never seen it take off before.
31:57And you don't really notice that when you're playing the game.
32:02And you really get more airtime on TV, not from playing the game of football, but from being a broadcaster or an analyst before the game, which is pretty crazy to me.
32:14I didn't really notice that until I started getting into it.
32:17And then people see your face all over the place.
32:20You don't even have to be a football fan.
32:21And someone's scrolling through the channel.
32:23They're like, oh, I saw you.
32:24I'm not even a fan, but I saw you.
32:25I was just going through the channels and boom, there you were.
32:28Great job.
32:29And I'm like, oh, that's pretty cool.
32:30So, yeah, it takes it to a whole nother level.
32:34You know, it makes you abroad, you know, a lot more, you know, being on TV, especially before a football game.
32:43You already do so much.
32:44So why are you starting a podcast company?
32:46Why does that make sense for the business of Gronk?
32:49Yes.
32:50So I've been offered many opportunities, you know, to do podcasts and to start my own.
32:55But it just didn't make sense.
32:56I'm not a guy that likes to sit there and just ramble on what's going on, you know, you know, with politics or the hottest subject that's going on.
33:05You know, I like to do my thing.
33:06I like I'm more about action, you know, and doing it like doing a commercial or going out on the football field and playing in the game or representing a company.
33:15More action, but less talk.
33:18But I went on Julian Edelman's podcast, Games with Names, and we just hit it off.
33:24We had a great conversation about the, you know, Super Bowl XLIX, my first Super Bowl that I won.
33:30Actually, here's the ring right here.
33:32You know, when we beat the Seattle Seahawks, 28 to 24.
33:37We were 15 and four that year.
33:38There it is.
33:39Do your job.
33:40All that good stuff.
33:41And we went on and talked about the game.
33:43And we had such a great time.
33:44And we had so much chemistry.
33:46And that episode kind of blew up, you know, for his podcast, Games with Names.
33:51And then his team presented to me, hey, you guys were great.
33:55You know, Rob, how about you do a podcast with Julian?
33:58The Nuthouse is what produces it all.
34:01And they do such a great job.
34:02It's a production company and just the way that everything was set up, you know, to perfection.
34:07When I went on to podcast with Julian, I was like, hey, I think I can do this.
34:12I'm like, it's easy, you know, like everything's all set for me.
34:16You know, all the information is presented to us the day before.
34:19We have a little meeting to go over everything that we're going to talk about.
34:23You know, I just I just show up, sit down and we just start going, going at it.
34:27So when I noticed that it was going to be, you know, kind of that simple compared to what I thought it was going to be like, I know I hopped on that opportunity.
34:37And to be with someone like Julian who takes half the load and I take the other half and it's not all on our, you know, our backs.
34:44Just it's not the whole show on me.
34:46I thought it was the right opportunity.
34:47And that's why I got into it.
34:49So where do you see your future going?
34:51Do you want to be someone who diversifies more?
34:53Do you want to focus on a specific area of what you're already doing?
34:56What's next here?
34:58You know, I really like what I'm doing.
34:59I still have a lot of time on my hands, you know, doing the broadcasting career and then also representing a couple of big name brands out there as well.
35:11And, you know, you do a couple of appearances for them.
35:14You do the shoot, you know, which takes only like two days out of the whole year.
35:18You do it all at once.
35:19So I got plenty of time on my hands.
35:22And where I really want to take it to the next level is through my investments big time.
35:27And that's where I learned, hey, I'm representing this company.
35:31I'm making this company all this money.
35:33And that's always going to be there, you know, and the right, you know, the right, you know, ambassador situations for me will always present itself and I'll probably always take them.
35:45But I was like, hey, I want to be part of a companies now where I make investments, represent them.
35:50And then the, you know, the outcome is 20 times as much as me just representing a company that's already established on a daily basis.
36:00So now I got a couple of investments out there, you know, that are started from the ground up that are blossoming now.
36:08They're a few years in and they just keep going to another level every single year.
36:12Any you can name?
36:13Yes. Green Lane is my biggest one.
36:15No doubt about that.
36:17I'm invested into Green Lane with Chris Birch.
36:20He's our main investor.
36:23He started Tory Birch back in the day.
36:25Very successful businessman.
36:26And then the two people we got running it are a married couple, Judd and Erica, and they already ran run 160 fast food chains.
36:36So they're very successful in that industry.
36:39And Green Lane is a fast food, you know, market, but it's not fast food.
36:47It's healthy, quick service restaurant food.
36:52And that's where I see myself leaning towards more in the future are the investments that I'm a part of and a vibe, which is a pet company for Valley Fever shots for for dogs.
37:04I put a good chunk of money into that, which is a great product.
37:08Dylan, the CEO is doing such a great job.
37:11And there's just so much FDA approval that has to go on.
37:14And I got a dog.
37:16Love my dog.
37:17And that's how I got into it as well.
37:20And a couple of companies as well.
37:22Instead of taking money up front.
37:23Hey, I see the big return in the future.
37:26You know, so give me some stock.
37:27You know, you don't even have to pay me.
37:29You know, give me some stock so you can keep all the money running in the business.
37:32And hopefully that stock can just take off like a rocket, you know, in five, six years.
37:40So I'm tending to learn the niches to really hit big, you know, in the long run.
37:4792 touchdowns, nearly 9,300 yards, four Super Bowls, great blocker.
37:52Are you the best tight end ever play the game?
37:53Are we going to see a gold jacket on your shoulders anytime soon?
37:55Yes.
37:56Hopefully we see that gold jacket on me.
37:58You know, like I said, in the football world, if you tend to get a big head and you think
38:03things are going to come your way, well then, boom, you get chopped right down.
38:07You get humbled right away.
38:08So a lot of people tell me first ballot Hall of Famer, you know, there's no doubt about
38:14it.
38:14I just say, hey, if I get into the Hall of Fame, that's one accomplishment that I never
38:19thought was going to happen, that I never imagined, you know, just growing up as a kid.
38:23I imagined myself getting to the NFL, no doubt about that.
38:26I told, I told my friends, my family, I'm going to make it to the NFL, but I didn't see
38:31it, you know, in the foreseeable future of a possible Hall of Fame.
38:36I mean, that would be an honor.
38:37I'll definitely have tears, you know, going down my eyes.
38:40I'm choking up a little bit right now.
38:42That's, that would just be one of the coolest things ever to be just enshrined into the,
38:48you know, Football Hall of Fame.
38:50Rob Ginkowski, thank you for being here with us.
38:52Hey, thank you for having me here.
38:54It's been a pleasure.
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