According to a report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the New England Patriots have agreed to a new deal with tight end Rob Gronkowski that will likely give him a raise for the final two years of his rookie contract:
A league source tells PFT that the Patriots and Gronkowski have reached agreement on a contract that would replace the final two seasons of his rookie deal. A second-round pick in 2010, Gronkowski is due to earn $540,000 in 2012 and $575,000 in 2013.
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, denies that a deal has been reached.
Nice to see that the Patriots and Gronkowski can (supposedly) come to agreement on new contract numbers that will keep Gronkowski happy. While I never expected Gronkowski to pull a Desean Jackson when it came to his contract, it's obvious that he's earned a pay raise, and the Patriots were happy to oblige. Of course, the team has likely agreed to this pay raise in good faith that the next time the two sides come together, to discuss his contract extension, that Rosenhaus and Gronkowski take this gesture from the Patriots into consideration.
Overall, this is a solid move for the Patriots. However, I think most Patriots fans would have been happier to hear about an extension for Gronkowski. With this news, it appears that we'll have to wait a little while longer for that.