Gronk Deal: Something for nothing.

Rob Gronkowski (87) scores a touchdown against Cincinnati in 2016.

I have a parable that fits the Rob Gronkowski situation to a T:

A few days ago, I looked at the coat racks here at home and realized I hadn't worn either of my winter-weight leather jackets in some time. So I determined it was time to transfer them to the storage closet until the consistently cold weather returns later this year.

But of course, I checked the pockets first. That was rewarding, because in one of the pockets of the brown jacket, I found three paper-money bills … a $10 bill, a $5, and a $1. Then in the inside left pocket of the black jacket, I found a perfectly folded $20 bill. So just in the act of shifting my unworn jackets from one hanging place to another, I came away with $36 that I did not expect to have -- money that had been forgotten, but can now be put to a better use.

Such is the place in which the Patriots found themselves Tuesday.

Gronkowski was a media favorite here. 

Gronkowski, that lovable lug that gave the Patriots the status of having the best tight end in the game for nine seasons, supposedly retired after the 2018 season. He's been cagey every step of the way since, hinting to returns to football while dropping a ton of weight, hawking cannabis-based pain-relief products and wrestling with the WWE. But he remained the property of the Patriots all along because of the length of the last contract he signed.

Now, Tom Brady wants his big binky back, and Gronk willingly came running to Tampa Bay. The Patriots obliged him, sending him and a seventh-round draft pick to the Bucs in return for a fourth-rounder -- even though they could have attempted to hold his feet to the fire and make his only option to play for the Patriots or not at all.

Surely, Gronk would not have done that. Both he and Brady have made it clear they have no problem walking away from the so-called Patriot Way. Both want to experience their sunset years of football in a kinder, gentler environment than under the highly regimented and restrictive yoke of Bill Belichick. And, had Gronk returned to the Patriots' roster, he would have added a salary cap hit of more than $9 million -- unaffordable to the Patriots, who have a paltry sum of $1.1 million left on their cap as the draft approaches.

So, it made sense for the Patriots to approve the deal. Tampa Bay has plenty of cap room for Gronkowski's salary. The Patriots are now in full rebuilding mode, if you haven't noticed, and more big names with big salaries will be heading elsewhere before training camp (hopefully) opens in July. And since they weren't going to get anything at all if Gronkowski remained "retired" here, a fourth-round draft pick is a happy bonus -- just like reaching into your pocket and finding money there that you forgot you had.