We're not sure how you'd forget you've got a life-changing stock investment sitting in the bank, but then again, we're not a former NFL star and multi-millionaire. This is the bizarre story of how former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski forgot that some shrewd investing netted him an impressive $600,000 from Apple.
Having invested $69,000 in 2014, Gronk reportedly forgot he'd made the deal for several years, but in 2024, he's sold some stock and is still sat on a healthy nest egg. While $600k might be a relatively small drop in the ocean for a man who's reportedly worth over $45 million, this would be a life-changing amount for most.
Gronkowski shared his story with Fortune, explaining he was having a house built in Foxborough, Massachusetts, back in 2014. Gronkowski was just 25, but his contractor gave him some invaluable investment advice.
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In Gronkowski's own words: "Every time I saw him, when we were building the house, he kept saying, ‘Get Apple. Get Apple.' So after the 50th time, I got it. And let me tell you, it’s the best investment I’ve ever had in my life."
Despite only being four years into his NFL career, Gronkowski was making millions in endorsements but admits he was a 'novice' when it comes to money matters: "I [had] never been involved in stocks.
“I really didn’t know how stocks work. So I was like, ‘All right, let me do this, man.'"
Again thanking his contractor, Gronk concluded: "To this day, I have over $600,000 in Apple stock, all because of the investment I made in 2014 having no idea what I was doing, but just listening to the guy that built my house here in New England."
With that $69k now maturing into $600k, fans on TikTok are telling him to find the contractor and give him some money. At the very least, some are asking him to give the contractor the initial $69k investment.
One person asked: "Did he give some to the builder who gave him the advice?"
Another added: "Rob should've gave 69,000 to the guy who gave him the advice to invest in Apple stock."
Others said, "Gronkoswki has more than enough money so help the guy out," and, "His contractor watching this like 👀 wants his cut 😂😂😂."
Someone else questioned: "Why didn't his financial guy already have him in Apple?"
We need an update from Gronkowski on whether the two are still in touch and whether the contractor was able to take his own advice and invest in Apple. Skeptics point out that telling someone to invest in Apple in 2014 wasn't exactly a trade secret, but still, it doesn't sound like Gronk would've done it without his contractor's push.
Even if not giving the contractor some money back, I'd make sure I was putting him on all of my building projects and having him around for Christmas.