Rob Gronkowski Reveals Tom Brady Once Threatened To Never Throw To Him Again

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski may just be the most prolific quarterback-tight end duo in NFL history, but there was a point in time during Gronkowski’s rookie season in 2010 where they weren’t on the best of terms.

During a recent appearance on Julian Edelman’s “Games with Names” podcast, Gronkowski recalled a moment when he got on Brady’s bad side during one of their first practices together, and the seven-time Super Bowl champion threatened to never get him the ball.

“I remember I ran a flag route, and I ran inside the guy instead of getting outside of him, and he flipped out on me in the meeting after the practice and told me he’s never going to throw me the ball again,” Gronkowski stated .

“… I just wanted to prove Tom wrong. Like, ‘All right, I’m going to run this flag route every time now and you’re never going to throw me the ball. But I’m going to be open by five yards and you’re going look like the idiot now.’ And that happened and then he threw me the ball about 600 more times from there on out.”

Gronkowski eventually learned that a Brady berating was actually a good thing.

“If he gets on you, he sees potential in you,” Gronkowski said. “That’s why he got on my a-- all the time. I didn’t really like him my rookie year. I mean, he was just getting on my case, just non-stop, and it was kind of mind-[expletive] me so much.”

Of course, things ultimately worked out for the better.

Gronkowski went on to win four Super Bowls playing with Brady (three in New England, one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.) He was a five-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro selection, and he was named to the Patriots All-2010s Team and All-Dynasty Team.