WWE Willing To Offer Rob Gronkowski 'Rousey-Like' Deal: Report

If Rob Gronkowski decides to leave the New England Patriots, he'll still have a chance to win a championship. Just in a different New England-based "sports" group.

Dave Meltzer, who is the Godfather of wrestling journalism, reported in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter Thursday that the Stamford, CT-based World Wrestling Entertainment is willing to offer Gronkowski a deal similar to the one it just gave former UFC Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey.

For Gronkowski, WWE's preparation comes at a time when there are rumblings he may walk from professional football. Following the Super Bowl, the Patriots tight end said he was going to sit down and consider his future in the NFL. That comment came right after he returned from a concussion he suffered in the AFC Championship Game. He has also suffered various arm, back, and leg injuries throughout his college and professional career.

Gronkowski has some experience with the company. Gronkowski took part in a small Wrestlemania angle last year when he helped his real-life friend Mojo Rawley (real name Dean Muhtadi) beat Jinder Mahal (Yuvraj Singh Dhesi) during the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He reappeared a few weeks later at a SmackDown show in Boston and threw a beer at Mahal.

Rawley is convinced his friend will wrestling soon. He told TMZ it's not a matter of if, but when, but tempered that by saying he can't speak for Gronkowski.

It's hard to say if Gronkowski would take the deal, Meltzer said, noting he would be making less than he would in the NFL. But the workload and physical stress of a part-time WWE deal might not be so bad.

For non-wrestling fans, Meltzer is one of the more respected reporters in the industry. The late Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated, who worked with Meltzer as part of the short-lived National newspaper, said in a 2013 New York Times article, “You could cover the Vatican or State Department and not do as good a job as Dave Meltzer does on wrestling.”

(Image Credit: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Images for WWE)