Could money be the hold-up for Buccaneers' free agent Rob Gronkowski?

With tight ends not being compensated in the NFL like we have seen with wide receivers this off-season, could Rob Gronkowski be holding out to see if the Bucs will pay him what he is worth?

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk brought up an interesting topic on potentially why the Bucs and free-agent TE Rob Gronkowski have yet to reach a deal this off-season, money.

With the WR market skyrocketing and the TE market lagging, could Gronk simply be waiting for the right financial offer from the Bucs? https://t.co/0disyJ6au5

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 23, 2022

With the skyrocketing salaries of wide receivers in the NFL, tight ends are starting to notice that they are not receiving the same amount of love when it comes to being compensated for their work on the field.

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Could this be the reason why Gronk has yet to sign a deal with the Bucs? Maybe.

Last season, Gronk played on a one-year deal worth $8 million and was able to get up $10 million with incentives. He has been known to make most of his money in his career mainly off of endorsement deals rather than what he makes on the football field.

However, maybe Gronkowski is ready to change that narrative and be paid like he deserves to be.

The Buccaneers currently have just over $12 million in cap space, which should be enough to pay the star TE, the question is will they?

I assume that the Bucs would do whatever it takes to bring Gronk back and reunite him with Tom Brady again and I also believe Gronkowski when he says that if he does play football in 2022 it will either be for the Bucs or nobody.

Personally, I feel that Gronk is currently just enjoying his off-season and will aim to skip OTAs and training camp. He has shown in the past that he likes to take time away from the game in the off-season while exploring all his options and different opportunities. This year is no different.

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Great catching up with ya Joy! Good times, keep crushing it with @FOXSports ! https://t.co/X9WHbJYk7Y

— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) May 23, 2022

Gronk will be Gronk and the Bucs will welcome him back with open arms if and when he is ready to return to football. It's not money, let the man enjoy himself and if he so decides to come back we can all be happy.

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