NFL's Gronk calls Apple his best-ever investment

AppleInsider

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.

Rob Gronkowski -- image source: Wiki Commons

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.



Read on AppleInsider

robin huber

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.”

stevegee

so it doesn’t sound like “… he made an investment in Apple without any advice.” sounds like the guy who built his house advised him to. 

danox

stevegee said:

so it doesn’t sound like “… he made an investment in Apple without any advice.” sounds like the guy who built his house advised him to.  Gronkowski made money

So? He got nagged into it so what however if Gronkowski had bought with his disposable income 1 million dollars worth of shares in 2005 right after Apples 2 to 1 split and just held onto it through a 7 to 1 split and a 4 to 1 split. He would’ve made more money than he made in his entire NFL football career, initial investment one million dollars 22,742 Apple shares in (2005). 22,742 Apple shares times a 7 to1split and a 4 to1split would be 636,776 thousand Apple shares worth $149,495,901.52 million dollars at today’s market price.

If Gronkowski or anyone else with knowledge (or a nagging builder) had bought just $2 million dollars worth of Apple shares in 2005 and just held onto it. They would be worth nearly 300 million dollars plus minus at today’s market price. (Note most people, even if they have money don’t bother).

It’s not too late despite what anyone says, drown out the noise and invest in Blue Chippers. Appleinsider over the years gives you a heads up over Seeking Alpha.

Also note, Apple also pays a dividend, which would make the total a little bit more.

jdw

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.

sconosciuto

11/17/01, on just a hunch Jobs would have a lot of success at Apple.

zeus423

I also invested in Apple many years ago. I didn’t know much about investing, but after watching Jim Cramer for a while I started to learn and got the courage to invest. It was the best investment I’ve ever made with my teacher salary. It’s allowed me to provide my family with a home and comforts we never would have afforded otherwise. 

MacPro

robin huber said:

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.”

Identical story here.  I remember the Microsoft articles about millionaires, so having missed that opportunity in the late 70s and early 80s, I went all in on Apple when Steve came back.  Dropped an entire IRA into Apple, my stock broker went nuts and made me sign disclaimers as 'I was an idiot'.  Now that IRA is at 7 figures, the first number isn't one! 

davidw

danox said:

stevegee said:

so it doesn’t sound like “… he made an investment in Apple without any advice.” sounds like the guy who built his house advised him to.  Gronkowski made money

So? He got nagged into it so what however if Gronkowski had bought with his disposable income 1 million dollars worth of shares in 2005 right after Apples 2 to 1 split and just held onto it through a 7 to 1 split and a 4 to 1 split. He would’ve made more money than he made in his entire NFL football career, initial investment one million dollars 22,742 Apple shares in (2005). 22,742 Apple shares times a 7 to1split and a 4 to1split would be 636,776 thousand Apple shares worth $149,495,901.52 million dollars at today’s market price.

If Gronkowski or anyone else with knowledge (or a nagging builder) had bought just $2 million dollars worth of Apple shares in 2005 and just held onto it. They would be worth nearly 300 million dollars plus minus at today’s market price. (Note most people, even if they have money don’t bother).

It’s not too late despite what anyone says, drown out the noise and invest in Blue Chippers. Appleinsider over the years gives you a heads up over Seeking Alpha.

Also note, Apple also pays a dividend, which would make the total a little bit more.

One can't get on Gronkowski case for not investing $1M in AAPL in 2005. In 2005, he was only 16 years old and most likely, didn't have $1M of disposable income then.

However, one can get on his case for only investing $69K in AAPL in 2014. Even if he might not had had $1M in disposable income then, at the time, his cars probably cost him more the $69K .... each.  Plus, one would think he could afford to hire a better financial adviser to invest his money, rather than to depend the person building his home.

To put things in better perspective, if one were to invest just $1K in AAPL in 2005 (that would get about 50 shares before the split), one would have 2,800 shares today with a value of slightly over $650K.  And just $1K in1996 when Jobs returned, would also get you 50 shares but having that extra 2 to1 split in 2000 would result in 5,600 shares today or $1.3M.

True story.  Around 2002, I opened 2 Roth IRA. One for me and one for my wife. Back then $2K per year was the limit one could put in their Roth IRA and only one Roth per person. Some time before 2005, I put $1K in my wife's IRA and bought 30 shares of AAPL. Today those shares are still in her account but is now 1,680 shares and value at $390K. But those 1680 shares of AAPL (when sold and withdrawn) and all the AAPL dividend already received, are tax free since it's in a Roth IRA. I only wished I did the same with my Roth. But I already had plenty of AAPL shares in my regular stock portfolio. So I thought, how could GE get any lower than $30 a share (This after the dot com crash) and GE was paying a dividend back then. Needless to say, the amount of tax free AAPL dividend my wife's Roth receives every year, is 2X more than what my GE stock is worth, in my Roth. 

But judging from the AAPL investors here at AI, none of us seem that impressed that a person whose income was probably over $2M a year in 2014, manage to make more than $600K, by investing $69K in AAPL (in 2014). I for one, would be way more impressed if he had invested $1K in 2005 (when he was 16 years old) and would now have about the same amount (more than $600k) in AAPL.    

tundraboy

My AAPL holdings are only 33x what I paid for them :-(

jdw

tundraboy said:

My AAPL holdings are only 33x what I paid for them :-(

You inspired me to check my Fidelity account.  Mine shows 73x.  But even that incredible gain always makes me think what could have been, if I had invested earlier in the 90's, rather than 1999.  My income was low in 1996, being only two years out of college back then.  I didn't think to buy back then.  The upside is I have two college student children right now, and I advise them about investing. So long as you have some disposable income, your never to young to start the tried and true "buy and hold" strategy.

tiredskills

Everyone's a stock market genius.

jdw

tiredskills said:

Everyone's a stock market genius.

Most likely written as a jab or joke, it is unfortunate because it only perpetuates the status quo of people being too afraid or too ignorant to ever invest anything.  

It doesn't take genius to invest.  It just takes a little disposable income, and hopefully you put it into something you strongly believe in, then let it grow for a long period of time (hence: "buy and hold").  The so-called "geniuses" often get themselves into trouble when they buy and sell frequently.  That's never been my approach because it carries way too much risk.

I realize why most people don't like to hear the investing experiences of others.  A lot of it sounds like spam or trickery, especially if you have never invested a dime.  But the fact remains that I told my friends and family on FaceBook more than a decade ago they should invest in AAPL.  Wouldn't have taken them much to research the merits of my advice.  Pretty much nobody listened to me. The only people who listened were folks who had already invested in AAPL and knew I was given them the right advice.  It's not like I was advising them to invest in a great deal on property in Death Valley!

Realistically though, this is an online forum, and I know none of you personally.  So it makes sense you will treat good investing advice flippantly or carelessly.  But I take comfort in knowing my kids are recipients of the good advice I give to them, and that makes me feel much more comfortable about their future.  

Do your own homework, and invest in something worthwhile, then buy it and hold it whenever possible.  That's the only advice I'm giving.  Why?  Because it has worked for me.

danox

davidw said:

danox said:

stevegee said:

so it doesn’t sound like “… he made an investment in Apple without any advice.” sounds like the guy who built his house advised him to.  Gronkowski made money

So? He got nagged into it so what however if Gronkowski had bought with his disposable income 1 million dollars worth of shares in 2005 right after Apples 2 to 1 split and just held onto it through a 7 to 1 split and a 4 to 1 split. He would’ve made more money than he made in his entire NFL football career, initial investment one million dollars 22,742 Apple shares in (2005). 22,742 Apple shares times a 7 to1split and a 4 to1split would be 636,776 thousand Apple shares worth $149,495,901.52 million dollars at today’s market price.

If Gronkowski or anyone else with knowledge (or a nagging builder) had bought just $2 million dollars worth of Apple shares in 2005 and just held onto it. They would be worth nearly 300 million dollars plus minus at today’s market price. (Note most people, even if they have money don’t bother).

It’s not too late despite what anyone says, drown out the noise and invest in Blue Chippers. Appleinsider over the years gives you a heads up over Seeking Alpha.

Also note, Apple also pays a dividend, which would make the total a little bit more.

One can't get on Gronkowski case for not investing $1M in AAPL in 2005. In 2005, he was only 16 years old and most likely, didn't have $1M of disposable income then.

However, one can get on his case for only investing $69K in AAPL in 2014. Even if he might not had had $1M in disposable income then, at the time, his cars probably cost him more the $69K .... each.  Plus, one would think he could afford to hire a better financial adviser to invest his money, rather than to depend the person building his home.

To put things in better perspective, if one were to invest just $1K in AAPL in 2005 (that would get about 50 shares before the split), one would have 2,800 shares today with a value of slightly over $650K.  And just $1K in1996 when Jobs returned, would also get you 50 shares but having that extra 2 to1 split in 2000 would result in 5,600 shares today or $1.3M.

True story.  Around 2002, I opened 2 Roth IRA. One for me and one for my wife. Back then $2K per year was the limit one could put in their Roth IRA and only one Roth per person. Some time before 2005, I put $1K in my wife's IRA and bought 30 shares of AAPL. Today those shares are still in her account but is now 1,680 shares and value at $390K. But those 1680 shares of AAPL (when sold and withdrawn) and all the AAPL dividend already received, are tax free since it's in a Roth IRA. I only wished I did the same with my Roth. But I already had plenty of AAPL shares in my regular stock portfolio. So I thought, how could GE get any lower than $30 a share (This after the dot com crash) and GE was paying a dividend back then. Needless to say, the amount of tax free AAPL dividend my wife's Roth receives every year, is 2X more than what my GE stock is worth, in my Roth. 

But judging from the AAPL investors here at AI, none of us seem that impressed that a person whose income was probably over $2M a year in 2014, manage to make more than $600K, by investing $69K in AAPL (in 2014). I for one, would be way more impressed if he had invested $1K in 2005 (when he was 16 years old) and would now have about the same amount (more than $600k) in AAPL.    

Whoops I assumed that he was as old as Tom Brady who came into the NFL in 2000….

jdw

tiredskills said:

Everyone's a stock market genius.

Interesting to see my experience on sharing info with friends and family on FaceBook about AAPL seems to be playing out here in the same way too. 

My first post in this thread about my AAPL holdings was made on Nov. 27th, when AAPL was at $235.  Today is Dec.3rd in the US (the 4th here in Japan), and AAPL is at $242.7. Anyone who had invested $1,000 in AAPL on the 27th would be $32.96 richer today. 

Stocks rise and fall, so there will be ups and downs over time, but choosing the right investment is as prudent as holding that investment for a long period of time.  AAPL also pays a quarterly dividend as well.  So with that same $1,000 investment on Nov. 27th, if the next quarterly dividend payment is $0.25/share, you would be paid $1.06 or so for doing nothing but just holding the stock.

Obviously, it makes more sense to invest more than $1,000 if you have the funds, but picking a good stock or even an INDEX Fund of some sort, can beat your earnings from a cash savings account alone.  It is a good time to hold some cash now that interest rates are still fairly high, but that won't last forever.  Capital Gains taxes are another thing you end up having to deal with, but for long-term holdings of more than 1 year, for middle class people (most people), the rate is 15%.

Again, I'm not one of the so-called experts or geniuses (whatever defines one to actually be that).  It's just common sense investing that has worked for me. 

Another thing I've done is track some of the investments of the wealthy, like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.  One of their holdings in the past was "Waste Management" of all things.  So on a whim, I invested in it.  Turns out that's been my second best investment after AAPL.  Some of the other picks of the wealthy were American staples McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Intel.  And while Intel has gone south recently, I still have a small gain on that, even if I exclude the dividends paid to date.

The point here is not to be complacent.  Do your own homework with the understanding that "investing is a smart thing."  Run some simulations, then dip your toe in the water.  If you end up retaining some of those investments for 10, 20 or 30 years, you'll be glad you did. 

For me, it's never be about getting wealthy.  It's been about planning for retirement with the expectation that the government may end up paying me nothing at all when I do retire.

And as I said earlier, I couldn't care less about silly wealthy people like NFL's Gronk.  He can retire now with no investments and be far better off than I am with investments because he's made so much money.  I have zero interest in him.  I can only do what somebody who's not in pro sports can do.  And that is, to invest.