Rob Gronkowski reportedly chose to skip Day 1 of New England Patriots organized team activities on Monday, but there’s a chance he could report to Gillette Stadium by the end of the week.
NFL Media’s James Palmer reported Monday the Patriots and Gronkowski are working on restructuring the All-Pro tight end’s contract. And since Gronkowski previously reworked his contract on May 24 of last year, the earliest new terms could go into effect is this Thursday. (NFL players must wait one year before restructuring an existing deal.)
A contract restructure with Rob Gronkowski is currently being worked on. If it has incentives like last year, per NFL rules it can't be done until May 24th (1 year from when he restructured his last deal). That’s a date to keep an eye on. Patriots third OTA is also on May 24th
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 21, 2018
Last year’s restructuring added incentives to Gronkowski’s contract that allowed him to take home $10.2 million in 2017 — $5.5 million more than he originally was set to earn. His current deal includes no such sweeteners for this season, with his base salary set at $8 million.
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reported earlier this month the Patriots were working to tweak Gronkowski’s contract, and several outlets have reported the 29-year-old is unhappy with his current financial standing.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported Sunday that Gronkowski’s absence from the Patriots’ voluntary workouts — he skipped Phases 1 and 2 of the offseason program before missing the first day of OTAs, as well — is “all about the money.”
