Report: Patriots Sign Gronkowski To Six-Year, $54 Million Extension
BOSTON (CBS) -- Rob Gronkowski is going to be in New England for a long time.
The Patriots' tight end agreed to a six-year extension with the Patriots, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The report says the deal is worth $54 million, though the specifics of that money are not yet known.
Gronkowski's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed the deal via Twitter.
"Congrats to Gronk & his family on his contract extension with the Patriots. My thanks to Mr. [Robert] Kraft & Coach [Bill] Belichick for making this possible," Rosenhaus wrote before retweeting Schefter's report.
With perhaps the best tight end in the entire NFL on the roster for two more years at short money, the Patriots had no reason to rush to ink Gronkowski to a long-term deal. However, the team clearly prioritized him in order to avoid any potential contract issues in the future.
Gronkowski, still just , was scheduled to make a base salary of just $540,000 and $575,000 in the last two years of his rookie deal. Now, he'll be the highest-paid tight end in NFL history, according to Schefter.
Late Thursday night, reports surfaced that the team was working with Gronkowski's agent on a new deal. Reports varied after the initial news broke, though it didn't take long for the two sides to reach a deal.
Gronkowski caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, while also adding a two-yard touchdown that technically went into the stats as a rushing attempt. He set an NFL record for most touchdowns in a single season by a tight end and most receiving yards by a tight end, though an ankle injury suffered in the AFC Championship Game limited him to just two catches for 26 yards in the Super Bowl.
