Former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski suffered a hamstring injury during his debut appearance in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. His day ended early after he caught a two-point conversion pass from former teammate Tom Brady.
Gronkowski was playing for Team Founders in the three-team round-robin tournament, which also featured the U.S. men's national flag football team. After hauling in the two-point conversion to cap the Founders' opening drive, Gronkowski slipped on a piece of turf while getting up and pulled his hamstring. He later confirmed in an on-air interview with the Fox Sports broadcast that he was done for the day.
"I just pulled it right there on the slip," Gronkowski said. "My hammy."
Gronkowski had caught multiple passes during the scoring drive before the injury. The Founders, quarterbacked by Brady, went 0-2 on the day. Team USA, made up of professional flag football players, won the tournament, defeating the Founders 43-16 and later winning the final against the Wildcats 24-14. Fox's Greg Olsen noted that the NFL players had only completed a pair of "half-assed walkthroughs" in preparation for the event.
The Fanatics Flag Football Classic is positioned as a showcase ahead of flag football's debut as an Olympic sport at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Current NFL players participating included Joe Burrow, Saquon Barkley, and Jalen Hurts. The event was hosted by Kevin Hart and broadcast on FOX Sports, Tubi, and the Fanatics YouTube channel.
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