Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski's popularity since winning the Super Bowl has "begun to teeter on the brink of overexposure that threatens to treat his personal brand the way it has so many other come-and-go fads," according to Eric Wilbur of BOSTON.com. The "bro-tastic Summer of Gronk has admittedly been fun," but he needs to "go away ... for his own good." There is "such a sincerity about Gronkowski's personality that it's infectious," and that is something he "understands to the degree of how he and his bros market it." He is "selling the millennial mindset, a non-stop party." Gronkowski has partnered with Red Sox DH David Ortiz on a Dunkin' Donuts music video, and later this month will appear on "Celebrity Family Feud." Wilbur: "We don't want to tire of it all. The Gronk Experience feels like it's an earnest one, in direct contrast to so many other professional athlete personality campaigns that are either purely marketing-driven or faulted for trying way too hard. ... But we need a break." Meanwhile, Wilbur noted Gronkowski has become the "most unlikely public relations vehicle" for the Patriots in an offseason dominated by Deflategate and Brandon Spikes' alleged hit-and-run incident. While the Pats are not going to "roll him out to the public in times of need," the team has "benefited from a vodka-pounding free spirit during the troubles of its summer of stupidity" (BOSTON.com, 6/11).
