The Patriots selected Gronkowski in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft with the 42nd pick, after he missed his junior year due to back surgery, immediately becoming a major contributor to the franchise's dynasty.

[8][9] He is a great-grandson of Ignatius Gronkowski who represented the United States in cycling at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and held five world records in the sport.

[28][29] He was twice named the John Mackey National Tight End of the Week, including his performance in a failed comeback bid against Oregon, when he caught 12 passes for 143 yards.

[42] During the preseason, Gronkowski was one of three NFL players to score four touchdowns, tying Victor Cruz, a rookie wide receiver for the New York Giants, and Anthony Dixon, a running back for the San Francisco 49ers.

[43] In the Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Gronkowski caught his first regular season touchdown in the fourth quarter on a one-yard pass from Tom Brady in the 38–24 victory.

[63] Gronkowski broke the NFL record for touchdowns scored in a single season by a tight end when he had the second three-touchdown game of his career in the Patriots' Week 13 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.

Gronkowski took sole possession of the tight end receiving record a week later against the Washington Redskins, in which he caught his 14th and 15th touchdown passes of the season; in total, he had six receptions for a career-high 160 yards.

[75] In the Patriots' first playoff game, a 45–10 rout of the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round, Gronkowski tied an NFL post-season record, catching three touchdown passes as part of a 10-catch, 145-yard effort.

With only a few seconds left in the Super Bowl XLVI, Gronkowski had a chance on Tom Brady's Hail Mary as time expired, but his dive for the ball came up short.

[118] Gronkowski was a major factor in the Patriots' 28–24 Super Bowl XLIX win over the Seattle Seahawks, recording 6 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown late in the second quarter.

[119] Gronkowski was fined twice this season, once for "unnecessary roughness" against Indianapolis Colts safety Sergio Brown,[120] and the other time occurring during Super Bowl XLIX.

[139] In Week 12 against the New York Jets, he suffered a back injury at the beginning of the second half, which needed surgery to repair a herniated disk, and was out for the season.

[203] Gronkowski's 29-yard catch towards the end of the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game set up the critical lead-extending field goal for Ryan Succop, with the Buccaneers winning 31–26 over the Packers.

[216] This brought the Brady-Gronkowski connection to a total of 90 regular-season touchdowns, moving them on to second place on the all-time quarterback-receiver list, behind only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison.

[235][236][237] For ESPN, "it felt like the tight end position was invented in response to his rare gifts, the singular marriage of power and grace he brought to the game.

[239][240] Such abilities, both played on elite levels, made him the most complete,[241] all-around,[242] and true tight end,[243] unlike other players of his position who were either only a receiver or blocker.

[244][245][246] Big, strong and agile at 6'6" and 265-pounds with hands measuring 10 ¾ inches from thumb to pinkie, he has been compared to NBA's LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal as one of the most physically gifted athletes in American sports history.

His production spoke for itself, but his daily attitude, unmistakably positive energy wherever he went and toward whoever he touched will never be forgotten.”[253] He was the highest ranked tight end in the annual NFL Top 100 Players five times, as voted by his peers.

[231][259] Gronkowski is considered one of the most unique personalities in sports, and has played with "an inimitable combination of acrobatic athleticism and reckless abandon"[260] all the while maintaining his boyish enthusiasm and humor.

[266] It had become a fan phenomenon, with MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference calculating that Gronkowski's arm moves 130° with the football leaving his hand at 60 miles per hour delivering 650 pounds of force.

Gronkowski has stated that partying improved his playing abilities noting, "You go out and get refreshed, and it just makes you want to go back out on that practice field and keep going hard.

[285] In October 2020, ZooTampa at Lowry Park named their newly born greater one-horned rhino "Gronk" to celebrate Gronkowski joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[286] In October 2024, Gronkowski partnered with his former teammate Julian Edelman and Assaf Swissa, founder of the creative agency Superdigital, to establish Nuthouse Sports (formerly Coast Productions).

[287] Gronkowski has appeared in print, television and online advertisements for brands such as USAA,[288] Nike,[289] Dunkin' Donuts,[290] Visa,[291] T-Mobile,[292] Tide,[293] Lyft,[294] JetBlue,[295] Zynga,[296] Cheerios,[297] Oberto,[298] SixStar Pro,[299] Monster Energy,[300] SMS Audio,[301]Campbell's,[302] Bodyarmor SuperDrink,[303] DraftKings,[304] Kids Footlocker,[305] and video games Mobile Strike[306] and Halo[307] among others.

[313][314] In August 2019, Gronkowski credited cannabidiol (CBD) oil, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis plants, for making him pain-free for the first time in a decade, and has advocated sports governing bodies to allow players to use it for pain management.

[315] A lifelong wrestling fan, Gronkowski first made a cameo appearance during the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 in 2017 to help his friend Mojo Rawley.

[336] In 2017, Gronkowski executive produced and hosted Verizon's Go90 original show MVP in which "business owners and entrepreneurs pitch their products or services to a panel of VIP athletes who weigh in with their expert opinion.

[358] On March 26, 2019, he accepted the Merit Award from United Service Organizations which recognizes "individuals of outstanding creative talent who are dedicated to serving others through volunteerism.

[361][362] In 2021, he donated $1.2 million to renovate the Charlesbank Playground at Boston's Charles River Esplanade hoping that "it will motivate kids to be outdoors, get fit and have fun".

[369][370] In 2015, Gronkowski stated that he had not spent any of the money he has made from his NFL contracts and strictly lived off the earnings from his business ventures, endorsement deals, and appearance fees.