Dan Gronkowski (full name: Daniel Thomas Gronkowski) was born on January 21, 1985, in Amherst, New York to parents Gordon, and Diane Walters. Dan Gronkowski has four brothers – Gordie, Chris, Rob, and Glenn – all of them played collegiate sports and professional football. His great-grandfather, Ignatius, was a member of the 1924 U.S. Olympic cycling team in Paris.
Dan Gronkowski went to school at Williamsville North High School where he played a bunch of sports including football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey. He played as a quarterback for 2 years and as a wide receiver for 1 year. Dan Gronkowski set a school record with 539 receiving yards when he was a Sophomore. Dan Gronkowski completed 122 of 207 passes for 1,407 yards and 16 touchdowns, all of which were school records and all of them was in his senior year. He was named the league offensive Most Valuable Player. He was recruited by the following:
- Maryland
- Arizona
- Purdue
- Syracuse
Dan Gronkowski has a bachelor’s in Marketing and has a master’s in Business Administration.
Dan played in the NFL, after his NFL career, Dan Gronkowski joined family-run businesses. He is in charge of marketing and product development at G&G Fitness and Gronk Fitness equipment
Dan Gronkowski’s wife name is Brittany M. Blujus, he married her on July 9, 2011, in Amherst, New York. They have three children.
Table of Contents
Football Career
College
Dan went to the University of Maryland where he also started playing football as a Redshirt in 2004. He made two receptions for 37 yards and also a career long25 yard touchdown in the year 2005, in the year 2003 he played 13 games, starting 9 of them, he had two receptions for 11 yards. He had the team highest GPA due to which he got the George Boutselis Memorial Award. Dan played 11 games including eight starts, in the games he caught seven passes for 66 yards in the year 2007. He received the team’s C.P. “Lefty” McIntosh Award for public service.
Dan started in 12 games of 13 which he played in 2008, in the games he caught 29 passes for a total of 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dan got a 25-yard reception which was his career-long in 2005. He played for some special teams and retired two kicks for eight and four yards. He was named an honourable mention All-ACC player.
Dan got drafted when he was studying MBA which was in marketing and he was also going to be nominated as a Rhodes scholar in his final year at the University of Maryland.
Professional Career
Pre-draft
Dan Gronkowski was the 21st-ranked tight end prospect for the 2009 NFL Draft. The NFL Draft Scout ranked him the 11th out of 96 tight end prospects.
Detroit Lions
Dan Gronkowski was the 255th overall player to got Drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL. Dan signed a three-year $1.21 million deal with them on June 25, 2009, with a signing bonus of $26,000.
Gronkowski was promoted to the active roster on December 1, 2009. Dan while playing against the Baltimore Ravens, caught his first pass on December 13.
Denver Broncos
He was traded to the Denver Broncos on September 4, 2010, for cornerback Alphonso Smith. He was released on September 3, 2011.
New England Patriots
Gronkowski signed with the New England Patriots on September 6, 2011. However, after playing in two games, he was waived on September 23. He re-signed with the team on October 10. On November 8, 2011, Gronkowski was released for a second time.
Cleveland Browns
After Browns tight end Alex Smith was placed on the Injured Reserve, the Browns signed Gronkowski to a one-year contract on December 20, 2011.
