Rob Gronkowski doesn’t appreciate all this MVP talk from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Green Bay signal-caller appeared Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” saying he still thinks he can still play at an MVP-caliber level. Whether that’s with the Packers or another team, he said, he’s “not sure.”
Gronkowski, in an interview with Kay Adams of FanDuel TV, said he didn’t agree with the crux of Rodgers’ message: that he could win another MVP but not another Super Bowl.
.@RobGronkowski shares his thoughts on Aaron Rodgers’ recent statement:⁰
“Why are you thinking MVP?… It should be Super Bowls, you should never be thinking MVPs…”⁰⁰📺: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/WGcN9VNuJs— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 18, 2023
“I’m totally fine with everything he said, except one major part. And that’s the MVP again,” Gronkowski said . “It’s just, ‘I think I could win another Super Bowl.’ And then that would have been totally fine. Like bro, why are you thinking MVP? Don’t you want more Super Bowls? Like Super Bowls are five times greater than an MVP award.
“Like, we all know you’ve won the MVP award a few times now. But you know, what everyone would know even more: how many more Super Bowls you’ve won, than MVPs. So that’s why I’m just a little confused about that quote that he just had. It should be Super Bowls. You should never be thinking the MVP, when Super Bowls are twice — twice (as) better.”
Rodgers led the Packers to a 31-25 victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl 45 following the 2010 NFL season. Green Bay has not advanced past the NFC championship game since, losing in the penultimate game of the season in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2020.
In that time, Rodgers has since gone on to win four NFL MVP awards: once in 2011, again in 2014 and twice in a row in 2020 and 2021. Three of those awards coincide with the Packers’ exit from the playoffs in the NFC championship game.
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Gronkowski, it should be noted, came out of retirement following the 2019 season to reunite with quarterback Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. “Gronk” had already played a Hall of Fame career with the Patriots, winning three Super Bowls and earning First-Team All-Pro four times from 2010 through 2018.
Though he wasn’t the team’s leading receiver in 2020, Gronkowski was still a major factor in the Buccaneers’ 2020 Super Bowl run. So his criticism of Rodgers makes sense when he has shown he values winning Super Bowls more than individual accolades.
Of course, Rodgers playing at an MVP level would likely put the Packers — or whatever team he decides to play for — in contention to compete for the Super Bowl. But that second Lombardi Trophy, unlike the NFL MVP award, has eluded Rodgers since that 2008 season.