Champion. Party boy. Innovator. A lot of words can be used to describe Rob Gronkowski, but who knew web3 pioneer would be one of them. Gronk has been known to dive into plenty of off-field activities, blockchain now being one of them with the release of the first ever collection of football NFTs (and yes, thus the catalyst for forming this very site). The series itself features moments from each of Gronk’s championship runs, and highlights his stats of those seasons on the back. Each piece is very much so a digital version of your traditional football trading card, except better, you know, because NFT Gronk. I’m not just saying that, it’s backed up by how much money this collection brought in, totaling over $1.8 million. Ready to learn more about what may be the world’s most valuable football NFTs? Let’s take a look:
GRONK Championship XLIX
First up, its Gronk’s first ring. Sporting a pose of Gronkowski catching his first ever touchdown in a Super Bowl, this NFT pays tribute to the great play of the TE in one of the best Super Bowls of all time. Though this particular game is famous for another infamous moment in NFL history, it was this very catch that put the Patriots up by a score in the 2nd Quarter. As we can tell from the back of the card, Gronk had a heck of a season, and earned himself his first championship. Aside from football, this edition released a total of 87 tokens, a reference to Gronk’s jersey number, of course. The NFT displayed here is the 1/87, which did sell at auction for 42 WETH, or about $79k USD at the time.
GRONK Championship LI
Item #2 on the list celebrates ring #2 for the Tight End. Though it is always sweet to win a championship, this game did not actually feature Gronkowski, who was dealing with an injury suffered early in the season. The Patriots certainly could have used him, however, as they found themselves down 28-3 in the third quarter. What proceeded was nothing short of utter brilliance as the Pats battled back to send the game into overtime, and ultimately win the game, capping off the greatest comeback in the history of the Super Bowl. Had Gronk played, maybe things would not have been so close. This card features Gronk rumbling towards the end zone, and his limited season’s stats on the back. Once more, part of a set of 87, we are looking at the 1/87, which sold for over 25 WETH.
GRONK Championship LIII
Another Championship performance, another NFT. Gronk returned to big time Super Bowl action in Super Bowl LIII, held in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, where they took on the LA Rams. Though missing a few games due to injury, this season saw a bit of a decline in productivity for the TE, and eventually led to Gronkowski’s first retirement from the NFL and departure from the team he had played his entire career with, to that point. What a way to go out though, winning your third championship, sitting on top of the world. In the artwork itself, we see Gronk making a big play, diving for the ball, hauling it in for a huge chunk of yardage. This edition yields another 87 pieces, where the 1/87 brought in another healthy 25.3 WETH, a huge chunk of change.
GRONK Championship LV
The return of Gronk! After stepping away from the game, and the Patriots, Gronk decided it wasn’t quite time to hang it up for good. After escaping the tight ship ran by Coach Bill Belichick up in New England, Gronkowski decided to join his good friend, Tom Brady, down in the Tampa sunshine, and became a swash-buckling Buccaneer. The relaxed environment fit Gronk well, and saw the TE enjoy another successful campaign that ultimately ended in yet another championship title. In the championship game itself, Gronk absolutely went off, scoring two touchdowns in Tampa’s home stadium, to bring the Lombardi trophy home. This marked the first time ever that a team played in and won a title in their home stadium. The artwork features a signature Gronkowski spike, an absolute classic of an NFL celly. The 1/87 sold for another 25 WETH.
(1-of-1) GRONK Career Highlight Card
At last, the biggest haul of them all, not just in this collection, but all of football NFTs to date, we have the 1-of-1 GRONK Career Highlight Card. The artwork features all of the previous Gronk action poses compiled into one (and only one) collectable card. A nice blurb on the back rattles off Gronkowski’s career accolades, and correctly identifies him as the great Tight End to ever play the game. Even nicer, this NFT brought in a whopping 229.8 WETH, or $430,000 USD at the time, setting a record for highest selling football NFT of all time.
In addition to the NFTs themselves, purchase and ownership of the digital items led to extra prizes such as a Rob Gronkowski meet & greet, football tickets, and tickets to one of Gronk’s parties, Gronk Beach. Our boy Rob absolutely crushed the collection, and made the money to show for it. I encourage you to check out the pieces on opensea.io .
