For the second straight year, the Patriots gave tight end Rob Gronkowski a contractual adjustment that hinges exclusively on playing and producing. Which means that, if he can’t play and/or produce, he won’t make the money.
The news that Gronk didn’t fly with his teammates to Chicago and could miss Sunday’s game against the Bears due to ankle and/or back injury will impact his earnings, in two ways. First, he won’t earn this week’s $62,500 installment toward a $1 million roster bonus premised on being on the active roster for every game. Second, he’ll have a harder time reaching the thresholds for his $3.