Rob Gronkowski already thought of himself as a New England Patriot for life.

Now he’s made it official, and fulfilled the wish of a longtime friend.

Gronkowski signed a one-day contract with the Patriots on Wednesday to retire as a member of the team he won three Super Bowls with during his 11-year NFL career.

“I’m a Patriot for life. My career started here and 100% needed to end here,” Gronkowski said after the ceremonial signing alongside team owner Robert Kraft.

While Kraft said there had been plans for Gronkowski to formally retire as a Patriot after he became eligible and was elected to the team’s hall of fame, the process was accelerated recently.

It was during the opening of a “Gronk Playground” in Boston that Gronkowski was present for in August that his longtime friend and charity partner Susan Hurley made a request.

Hurley, a former Patriots cheerleader who worked with hundreds of area charities through her company CharityTeams, asked him to make if official and retire as a member of the team.

When Hurley died from cancer earlier this month, Gronkowski said honoring her request was an “absolute no-brainer.”

“The whole Gronk persona, everything about myself ... was all because of the fans here in New England, was all because of my teammates accepting me and everyone else here,” he said. “Just accepting who I was from the very beginning and embracing it and letting me just play the game of football out on the football field.”

From the outset “Gronk” established himself as a fun-loving, touchdown-spiking presence in the Patriots locker room. His personality — on and off the field — was as big as his biceps, and he always seemed to be the life of the party.

Kraft said Gronkowski’s imprint on the franchise was immediate and lasting.

“His clutch performances were legendary, and his larger than life personality and connections with the fans has truly made him a New England icon,” Kraft said.

Gronkowski said memories from his time in New England flooded into his mind being back at team headquarters. But he said beating the Seattle Seahawks and winning his first Super Bowl ring to cap the 2014 season is his most special memory by far.

“That memory will always be with me and memories with the guys and the stories with the guys in the locker room, on the practice field. But the No. 1 memory is winning those Super Bowls, big time,” he said.

Gronkowski established himself as possibly the NFL’s greatest tight end during his 11 seasons in the league.

Drafted by the Patriots in 2010, he spent the first nine years of his career in New England, winning three Super Bowl rings as one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets.

Gronkowski retired following the 2018 season and sat out in 2019, becoming a Fox Sports analyst.

But he returned to football in 2020, joining Brady in Tampa Bay, where they won another ring together that season. He last played in 2021 and returned to Fox Sports in 2022, where he’s since had a role as a full-time analyst.

Gronkowski’s 92 receiving touchdowns rank third all-time among tight ends. His 9,286 receiving yards are sixth among tight ends all-time.

While that will almost assuredly earn him a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, he said he’s looking forward to joining Brady in the Patriots’ hall.

But he’s not expecting to get a statue like the quarterback.

“Tom’s one of a kind,” Gronkowski said. “If you put one, just put me in the end zone and be tiny.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl