Rob Gronkowski Welcomes Tom Brady To The 'Twice-Retired' Club In Sweet Retirement Message

Longtime Tom Brady teammate Rob Gronkowski knows what it's like to retire twice.

So instead of sounding unoriginal with another Hallmark-sounding post following Brady's announcement to officially retire from the NFL after 23 seasons (his second, and final, time stepping away from the game), Gronk's poking fun at TB12 for joining the "twice-retired club" in a hilarious yet sentimental message.

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It was a nice moment of guys being dudes as Gronk shared a sweet send-off for his old pal.

Gronk went to Instagram to share a picture of the two following their Super Bowl LV win as part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The second slide of the IG photo carousel showed a picture of Brady and Gronk's time in Foxborough, where the seemingly lifelong friendship between the two first began.

"Tommy, since I already wrote you a long retirement message last year, this time I shall say, welcome to the 2x retired club," Gronkowski captioned the post. "You’re a legend, and you always will be, my friend."

Perched atop the comments section was a response from Brady, saying, "Love u, Gronkie."

Out of the flurry of retirement posts Brady received throughout Wednesday after somberly announcing his official goodbye, this had to be the best.

Throughout 2022, Brady had hopes that Gronk would step out of retirement a third time to join him back on the Bucs, but Gronkowski never bit on that hook.

Instead, Gronkowski stayed occupied in the entertainment realm, including time as a Fox Sports analyst — a role Brady will soon be approaching as well.

Gronkowski became one of Brady's all-time favorite targets and won four Super Bowls with TB12. According to StatMuse, in 141 games alongside Brady, Gronkowski nabbed 620 catches for 9,275 receiving yards and 93 total touchdowns.

Friends till the end, and then more.

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Alejandro Avila lives in Southern California and previously covered news for the LA Football Network. Jeopardy expert and grumpy sports fan. Known for having watched every movie and constant craving for dessert. @alejandroaveela (on X)