Rob Gronkowski celebrated his retirement at Mohegan Sun FanDuel Sportsbook with family, friends and fans on Sept. 10, 2022, in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Mohegan Sun)
Gronkowski explained Monday night on "The Tonight Show" that his party habits helped him on the field.
"Well, I’m carrying my friends, you know, throughout the bar. I’m holding them up. I’m lifting. I’m curling them," he explained to host Jimmy Fallon. "They’re on my back, I’m jumping up and down. I’m dancing the whole time. Kinda like Austin Butler. I’m gyrating."
Fallon asked Gronkowski just how close he was to signing with a team this season.
Rob Gronkowski and his father Gordie take part in Gronk Beach party on April 29, 2022, in Las Vegas. (Fox News/Ryan Gaydos)
"I missed it sometimes, but not really. Then I’d miss it for like an hour, and then I would go work out, and then I’d be like, ‘Nah, I don’t miss it. I don’t even have the energy to work out,'" adding he took some phone calls and about a week to really consider returning to the gridiron.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star told Fox News Digital earlier this month he did ignore some calls and texts.
"I know, man. I just kind of ignore them," he told Fox News Digital. "I laugh, you know. I send some funny things back, but it’s also very humbling. It’s very cool to be in that situation as well thought to where you’re still wanted. Usually, in the NFL, you get chewed up and you get thrown out right away. You get spit up and spit out, and therefore it’s just cool to be in that situation.
Rob Gronkowski appears on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors awards at YouTube Theater on Feb. 10, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Kirby Lee-USA Today Sports)
"I would say just one of a few out there to have teams call, and you can come back and play in the NFL. So, that’s definitely a humbling experience. But the mindset is just not there. And I just enjoy my time off and very content on where I am."