The clock has been ticking on Rob Gronkowski's career before the New England Patriots star, who announced his retirement on Sunday afternoon, ever entered the league. Back surgery cost him his junior year at Arizona and led the 21-year-old to declare for the 2010 draft, where the missing year pushed him into the second round. Bill Belichick might be a legend for trading down, but in a rare trade up, he sent a sixth-rounder to the Oakland Raiders to move up two spots to grab Gronk.
Presumably out of concerns over the long-term viability of that back, Gronkowski locked in financial security after two seasons by signing a six-year, $54 million extension with New England.