Rob Gronkowski, the former New England Patriots tight end, says his childhood hobby of trading card collecting has returned to a “super peak” and is now drawing renewed attention.
He plans to appear in a collectibles event at The National Sports Collectors Convention on Aug. 1 while launching “Gronk Geeks Out.”
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In interviews, Gronkowski described collecting as part of his life since he was young, noting that it rose to a peak, dipped, and then surged again.
He said he collected baseball cards and NHL cards as his two favorites during his youth.
Gronkowski also described how a friend followed his playing career through card collecting, spending about a decade buying cards of the former Buccaneers tight end.
The friend accumulated around a hundred cards and told Gronkowski they are now worth even more.
Before the convention, Gronkowski is teaming with eBay Live to launch “Gronk Geeks Out,” a series that follows him as he explores the collecting world and learns its details.
The planned appearance ties his post-football routine to his longstanding interest in sports cards.
“That's when collecting trading cards was huge,” said Gronkowski.
He added that after a period of decline, collecting has reached what he called an all-time high in popularity.
“That was at its peak and then it kind of dipped a little bit, and now it's at its super peak,” said Gronkowski.
Gronkowski said his early collecting focused on two categories and that the hobby began as a pastime he returned to over time.
