NFL Super Bowl Champ Reveals Marijuana Business, Launches CBD Products

The larger-than-life Robert “Gronk” Gronkowski, widely regarded as one of the greatest tight-ends ever to play in the NFL, is now into the weed business.

Gronk, who broke and set records galore until his retirement from the New England Patriots at the end of the 2018-2019 season, said on Tuesday he’s partnering with Canadian firm Abacus Health Products Inc. to launch a line of CBD (cannabidiol) products. And why CBD?

Gronkowski said CBD changed his life.

“I immediately made CBDMedic part of my recovery,” said Gronkowski of his post-retirement treatment. “And now for the first time in more than a decade, I am pain-free. And that is a big deal.”

Abacus is the maker of CBDMedic, a family of all-natural topical medications that combine over the counter (OTC) drug active ingredients with CBD-rich hemp oil and other natural moisturizers.

As part of the agreement, Gronkowski will partner with Abacus to expand CBDMedic’s product line. These new products are planned for release in 2020.

"I'm excited to start a new chapter of my career as an advocate for recovery and an investor and partner with Abacus -- a company that I truly believe in," said Gronkowski in a statement.

Gronkowski, who won three Super Bowl championships with the Pats, said he pushed himself to play while recovering from nine surgeries and countless injuries.

He said his many injuries “took an absolute beating on my mind and my soul. I was hurt both mentally and physically, day in and day out. I decided to walk away from the game for one reason: I had to recover.”

“I was in near constant pain and needed to make a change,” he revealed. “After retiring, I looked for better and more natural ways to recover and discovered CBDMedic through my dad. These products have helped me safely manage pain better than anything else I've tried.”

Gronkowski said he looks forward to introducing new products with Abacus in the hope of helping millions of Americans balance their active lifestyles with healthy recovery.

Gronkowski and Abacus will launch a complementary health and wellness line of CBD products in early 2020. Abacus said these CBD products are being developed with Gronkowski's first-hand insights on pain management and recovery combined with its 15 years of pharmaceutical experience specializing in natural solutions.

The new Gronk-inspired products will use U.S. sourced broad-spectrum, CBD-rich hemp oil that doesn’t contain THC, and therefore, isn’t psychoactive.

Gronkowski said his own results from using CBD oils have led to appeal to professional sports leagues to allow active players to use CBD products to treat their own injuries.

“It’s just time,” he said.

Gronkowski won’t return to the NFL.

“I feel that love,” he said. “But I want to be clear to my fans: I needed to recover. I was not in a good place. Football was bringing me down. And I didn’t like it. And I was losing that joy in life,’ said Gronkowski, fighting through tears.

“I knew I just needed to fix myself.”