Rob Gronkowski’s girlfriend believes tight end will play again

TAMPA — Rob Gronkowski sounded pretty convincing when he announced his second retirement from football last month. Unfortunately, among those he didn’t sway was his girlfriend, Camille Kostek, who believes the free-agent tight end, who spent the past two seasons with the Bucs, will return to the NFL again.

Kostek, speaking before the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show Saturday night in Miami Beach, said she isn’t buying that Gronkowski’s latest retirement announcement was his last. In fact, she compared it to the one Bucs quarterback Tom Brady hastily made at the end of the season, only to change his mind and return 40 days later.

“I am a honest lady, and honestly, I don’t feel like this one is the forever one,” Kostek said of Gronkowski’s retirement. ”So, I think maybe he’ll come back again. I feel like him and Tom are just having fun, like, ‘retired, not retired, retired, not retired.’'

Only a week ago, Gronkowski was pretty adamant that he was leaving his football career forever to pursue other business interests in an interview with ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

“I’m done with football,” Gronkowski said. “Love the game. Love the game. And definitely blessed with all the opportunities the game of football has given me. But done with football and stepping my feet into the business world and business ventures. Just seeing what’s out there and where I can, you know, find my place.”

That is, until he realizes his place still is on the football field, as Kostek predicts.

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