William Gallagher
Famed tight end Rob Gronkowski made millions from his NFL years but the best investment return he saw was from Apple stock he forgot he'd bought.
Apple has tried — and failed — to invest in the NFL through a deal to secure the Sunday Ticket rights, but now one of the league's most financially astute players reveals he invested in Apple. Rob Gronkowski famously did not spend the millions he earned from his 11-season spell with the NFL, yet he says early on, he made an investment in Apple without any advice.
According to Fortune magazine, it was in 2014 when he was with the New England Patriots. While he had a financial advisor, he also had a man building him a house — and the man would not stop talking about Apple stock.
"Every time I saw him, when we were building the house, he kept saying, 'Get Apple. Get Apple,'" Gronkowski said. "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."
"I [had] never been involved in stocks," he continued. "I really didn't know how stocks work."
"So I call up my financial advisor. I'm like 'put $69,000 in Apple'," explains Gronk. "My own money, with no advice like this, is just from the guy who built my house here in the New England area."
Gronkowski says he actually forgot that he had done this, and when he remembered to check two years later, he found he'd done quite well. That initial $69,000 was then worth $250,000.
Perfect timing
That house builder could not have picked a better time to encourage Gronk — and it was a moment that most investors missed out on. Apple had a poor 2013 financially, and it what Bloomberg would call one of the worst blunders in finance, money managers predicted that 2014 would be the same.
Instead, the year saw the unveiling of the Apple Watch, plus strong Mac sales, and a very successful launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. That saw Apple blowing away expectations in its October earnings, after which the cost of shares rose dramatically.
Gronk still owns Apple stock
"Now 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," said Gronkowski, "but just listening to the guy that built my house here in New England."
There's no word on whether the house builder also invested in Apple. But Gronk is happy with his deal.
"Let me tell you, he built my house, and he gave all the money back to me by telling me to invest in Apple," he said.
Separately, Tim Cook has been selling off some of his Apple stock. In October 2024, he sold some $50 million of it.
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Christine McKee
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
15 Comments
I was an early fan (1984) and bought as much as I could afford at the time, and continued to do so as my salary rose. Have been amply rewarded. At the time I knew someone who had done the same with Microsoft and retired early on it. I was jealous, but turned out I was able to do the same thing! Can’t tell you how many times friends and pros urged me to sell because “Apple was doomed.”
so it doesn’t sound like “…
I'm uninterested in hearing how an already wealthy person has grown more wealthy. A better article would focus on why your typical Apple fan still hasn't invested a dime in AAPL.
My first investment was back in 1999, and I've not sold a share. I did that because I believed in the company AND loved its products. But I also did that because I know that to NOT invest is foolish. If your money doesn't grow at least at the pace of inflation, you are losing money. And no, I wasn't some kind of wealthy guy back in 1999 either. I simply understood the importance of investing.
Everyone talks about "risks" associated with the stock market, forgetting that life itself is one huge risk. I think there's a higher risk of harm each time you jump behind the wheel in a car.
11/17/01, on just a hunch Jobs would have a lot of success at Apple.