Making the NFL was only the start.
By Chrisgronkowski · September 29, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Making the NFL was only the start.
Hey LinkedIn, my name is Chris Gronkowski.
I grew up in Buffalo, the middle of the five Gronk brothers.
I was committed to Penn Wharton, but a last-minute football scholarship from Maryland changed everything. Free college beat $200,000 in debt.
After two seasons, I transferred to Arizona to walk onto the baseball team before returning to football.
I studied accounting and honestly thought I would become a CPA.
Then, halfway through my junior season, my coaches told me NFL scouts were calling. So I prepared myself for the league.
But in 2010 I went undrafted. Two minutes after the draft ended, my agent called. Dallas wanted me.
I made the Cowboys, and in my first start I caught my one NFL touchdown from Tony Romo.
I bounced around teams, and in 2014 I tore my hamstring running a 40 at a tryout in Miami. It was surgery or walk away.
So I walked away from the game. Little did I know that's when my life was just starting.
My wife Brittany had started a personalized gift business on our kitchen table with less than $1,000. I went all in with her, and before long it was out-earning my NFL salary.
The turning point came in the summer of 2016.
My cheap plastic shaker was leaving puddles onto the gym floor I was working out on. I couldn't find an insulated one, so I built it.
That idea would go on to become Ice Shaker.
And in 2017 we went on Shark Tank and closed a deal with Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez. Ice Shaker has sold over a million bottles since.
Today I'm in Dallas with Brittany and our four kids, scaling Ice Shaker as far as we can take it.
I'll be sharing more stories from all of it here. So if you're a founder, athlete, or interested in the consumer business, let's connect.
We're just getting started.