Rob Gronkowski made a choice between Tom Brady and Drake Maye. And Gronk chose Maye.
Really, he did. Context is key here, though.
I asked the former All-Pro and four-time-Super Bowl champion tight end if he would rather have a Tom Brady rookie card or a Drake Maye rookie card.
“Oh, that’s a great question. I would probably rather have right now, to this day, a Drake Maye rookie card because it’s probably a lot cheaper,” Gronkowski said. “I can get it for cheaper because it’s a rookie card and he’s a young buck right now. And a Tom Brady rookie card, he has all the accolades already. You don’t know how Drake Maye’s career is going to project. It looks great, no doubt about it. It looks very on track to be very, very successful.
“But Tom Brady’s already proven, so his rookie card is so expensive right now. I don’t think I could afford it. So I would have to get a Drake Maye card. Then it would just only go up in value if his career keeps projecting the way it’s supposed to. So that’s the reason — I’m looking at value and looking at price, so I’m gonna go with the Drake Maye rookie card.”
And after the Patriots lost big to the Seahawks, Gronkowski might be able to find Maye rookie cards at a discount.
I spoke with Gronkowski just before he hopped on an eBay Live stream this past weekend leading up to Super Bowl 60 and it was evident how much Gronk enjoys the hobby.
What do you make of the growth of this collectibles and memorabilia industry?
“It is really monstrous. I love it because when I was a kid, it was all about collecting collectibles, collecting cards and showing them off to your friends. And then all of a sudden, it kind of disappeared when I got to high school. It wasn’t really there as much. It was still there, but it wasn’t like it was. Then all of a sudden like halfway through my career in the NFL, it just started taking off again. Everyone started collecting cards. Memorabilia, it just skyrocketed and it just brings joy to my face. My brothers have kids. I’ve got about 10 nephews and nieces. They’re all collecting cards, they’re all trading cards and they’re all bragging about the cards that they have. They all want to go to a local sports shop and go get packages of cards and open them up. Just to see that surprise on their face on what player they’re getting. That’s what it’s all about. So it’s great to see my childhood back. And not just back, it’s bigger and stronger than ever.
“I actually went back home to Buffalo, my brother and I, we went into our closets because (our parents) still have the same exact house. We were like, ‘Holy cow, look how many cards we have here!’ We have collectibles that people have been trying to get forever. And we don’t even know how much this one’s worth, how much that one’s worth. We’ve got to bring it to a professional, an actual place to get it actually valued.
“We collected every single sport — hockey, baseball, football. So it was so cool to see the old timers when we were going through those cards. It’s just amazing and it brings joy to everyone’s face. It has meaning to it.”
What’s one thing that’s untouchable, that you’d never get rid of?
“That’s a great question, my man, because I’ve gotten rid of plenty of stuff throughout my professional career — whether it was a game-used jersey or a touchdown football. You’ve got so many of them. You can’t really have all that just laying around your office. It’s hard to hang it all up. There’s just too much. And sometimes you want to give some out to your friends or family members, or go on eBay and auction it off so (fans) can have access to one of your touchdown balls or a game-used jerseys.
“But the things I would never get rid of that’s near and dear to my heart, it’s all my Super Bowl winning jerseys. Those are all mine. I’ll keep those forever. I’ll never get rid of one of those. Or my Super Bowl rings. Never get rid of those Super Bowl rings. But what’s crazy is you really can’t wear them for too long because they’re like mini trophies on your fingers. Your fingers are sore the next day because they’re so big and heavy. It’s incredible.”
Is there an image or a moment in your career that you would most like to have on a card?
“Oh, I would say my one-handed touchdown catch versus the Buffalo Bills. I don’t know the exact year, but we were at Gillette Stadium. I grew up in Buffalo so I was facing my hometown team. It’s always special when I went against the Buffalo Bills because of that reason. … I had a one-handed snag and got my two toes in and caught it. That would be really cool if that was on a sports collectible.”
Gronkowski’s one-handed 17-yard TD reception during the second quarter of the Patriots’ win over the Bills on Dec. 24, 2017. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Is there a card or a piece of memorabilia of any athlete out there ever that you would most like to have?
“Oh man! Growing up in Buffalo, I was a big, big Buffalo Sabres fan. I played hockey my whole entire life and my favorite player growing up was Dominik Hasek. Who did not love Dominik Hasek? One of the greatest goalies of all time. He’s a Buffalo legend and I loved watching him play. It’s when the Sabres were pretty solid and going to the playoffs on a yearly basis. So if I could get a signed goalie pad from Dominik Hasek, I would hang that up forever in my office. … You know, used goalie pads that he has just laying around in his garage because he probably has plenty of them, like 50 pairs of abused goalie pads because of how long he played. Oh yeah, that would be awesome.”
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