Rob Gronkowski has made an extraordinary claim about his former teammate Tom Brady, amid speculation that the legendary quarterback could make an NFL return.
The ex-Patriots and Bucs passer, who retired in early 2023, said on the DeepCut podcast in April that he was ‘not opposed’ to stepping back on the field if a team called him.
And while the 47-year-old is set to begin a new gig as an NFL analyst with Fox Sports, Gronkowski thinks his close friend’s physique has actually improved since he stepped away from the gridiron.
‘I think he’s in better shape than he was when he was playing,’ Gronkowski told PEOPLE. ‘Every time I see him, he looks better and better. It’s just unbelievable how he pulls it off!’
Brady was seen leaving the gym last week, and looked to be in impressive shape despite nearing two years away from professional sports.
Rob Gronkowski believes Tom Brady is in even better shape than he was as a player
Brady showed off his impressive physique as he was recently spotted leaving the gym
The seven-time Super Bowl winner told Men’s Health in 2019 that he focuses on increasing muscle ‘pliability’ emphasizing muscle length and ease of movement rather than nailing a maximum bench press.
And he’s certainly done little to dispel the notion that he could still thrive on the field.
Late last month he was seen practicing with receivers while shooting a commercial for athletics company Nobull.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Brady can first be seen throwing a ball on the field in Miami for the ad, before he later discussed his recent dream about the Super Bowl.
However, the dream involved broadcasting rather than playing as he gets set to start his $375m deal with Fox.
‘I actually had a crazy dream last night,’ Brady says in the video. ‘The Super Bowl was coming up and I had yet to do a game, and Fox had it. And they called me up and they’re like, ‘Hey dude you’re gonna do the Super Bowl.’ And it was that day.
‘I was like, ‘That’s kind of f****ng weird though. The Chiefs are in it and I know the Chiefs, and the 49ers are in it and I know them… so I could probably do it.’
Brady showed that he still has his throwing prowess in a video shared to his YouTube channel
Gronkowksi also backed Brady to thrive in the broadcasting booth as he starts his job with Fox
‘And literally I like snapped out of it.’
For now at least, Brady will be focused on his broadcasting duties as he steps into the booth – a role that Gronkowski thinks he’ll thrive in.
‘If anyone can pull it off, it’s definitely him,’ Gronkowski says of Brady. ‘He’s a great public speaker as well. That’s very surprising. He’s taken the public speaking game to a whole new level every time I see him.’
‘He knows how to read a defense, when they’re blitzing, when they’re backing off in the coverage, who’s coming off the edge. He knows just every little thing about the game of football and that’s what made him so good — so if he just projects what he knows, he is going to do just as good in the booth that he did on the football field.’
