Family life makes NFL retirement easier for Gradkowski
Although she is only two-and-a-half years old, Giada Gradkowski controls the remote in her household.
At 1 p.m. Sept. 11, she will have the television channel tuned to CBS for the Pittsburgh Steelers opener at Cincinnati.
“She loves football,” said her father, Gino. “She talks about it all the time. She even turns the TV on and says, ‘I turned football on for dad’ because she knows it’s my thing.”
For the better part of his 33 years, football, indeed, had been a huge part of Gino Gradkowski’s life. He even played seven seasons professionally.
Unlike many other former NFL players, Gradkowski did not have time to dwell on his retirement because a few months after he hung up the cleats and shoulder pads, Giada was born.
“It was a really good distraction from stepping away from football,” Gradowski explained. “I had a really exciting thing to look forward to in becoming a father. So that has really kept me busy in this transition out of football.”
Gradkowski says retirement is ‘good’ but admits that adjustments were required.
“The hardest thing is just to try to find something that gets you as motivated as football did,” he said.
During the first two years after he retired, Gradkowski worked for his college alma mater. He started as an intern in the University of Delaware’s athletic program and later became a full-time employee in the leadership and character development programs.
Last year, Gradkowski stepped away from that role because he was looking to move into something more specifically impacting young adults.
“My passions is to try and help younger athletes. Not just with football but also teaching them some important character skills and important life lessons that can help them not just on the football field but in school and in their life and community too,” he said.
This fall, Gradkowski will complete his master’s degree in counseling. He earned a degree in history while playing football for the Blue Hens. Gradkowski hopes to gain employment perhaps as a high school guidance counselor and coach high school football.
“Something along those lines,” he said. “If it’s going back into the college level and working with student athletes, I’m open to that as well.
“Wherever God leads me and whatever opportunities he provides,” he added. “I’m open to however that plays itself out.”
Gradkowski’s professional path began in the Pop Warner league at age 4. Eventually, he started on both sides of the line at Seton LaSalle High School in Mt. Lebanon. There he gained the attention of recruiters and matriculated to West Virginia University.
After he transferred to the University of Delaware, Gradkowski parlayed his skills into a NFL career.
The Baltimore Ravens drafted him in the fourth round. He was the 98th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and a Super Bowl champion that season. He was a backup lineman to Matt Burke and a special teams performer as the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII.
“Winning a Super Bowl was a great experience,” he said.
It was also a once-in-a-lifetime event he realized after spending time with Burke and with his older brother, Bruke, who as a journeyman quarterback in the NFL, even playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I learned a lot from Matt (Burke) and one thing was that you are not going to make it to the Super Bowl every year. He was in his 16th year and that was his first Super Bowl,” Gradkowski said.
“And watching my brother go through his career, 11 years and never making it there. So I knew it was a very special opportunity. Of course, I was really hoping that I could make it back there because it was a really great experience.”
A seven-year NFL veteran, Gradkowski had playing experiences also with the the Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and New York Jets.
“I was blessed to be associated with a lot of good organizations,” Gradkowski said.
Because he was single throughout most of his NFL career, bouncing from team to team did not present the problems his married teammates faced.
“It was a little easier for me because at the time I wasn’t married and didn’t have a family yet. I didn’t have to pack up my whole family and move or have kids change schools like a lot of guys I played with had to do,” he said. “It wasn’t too much of a change or big deal for me to just move because I rented everywhere I went.
“Obviously, you want to have a career where you are in one place for a long time, but the benefit of bouncing around is that I got to met a lot of great people and learn from a lot of great coaches. and live in different cities, which is a really cool experience, too.”
Charlotte was one of Gradkowski’s favorite places because it was there that he made a home with his wife, Adrianna. The two have been married since 2017. They currently live in New Jersey.
Eventually, the hard hits caught up with Gradkowski. He incurred injuries in his last few seasons.
“My body told me it was time,” he said.
Today, he is fit and trim. “Back to my eighth-grade weight,” he boasted. And, Gradkowski is doing dad things like falling off ladders while cleaning the gutter.
It was with a cast on his left forearm, protecting the sprain and ligament damage to his wrist, that Gradkowski recently instructed area athletes at his annual offensive lineman camp on the campus of his high school alma mater.
Since his playing days, Merrick Field has been renovated, an artificial surface installed and new concession stands constructed.
“When I was up here practicing, it was a dirt pile,” he said. “It’s great to see the facilities that the guys have now. To come up to this beautiful practice field and be able to use this turf is awesome for all the student-athletes at Seton LaSalle.”
As a Rebel, Gradkowski played on a WPIAL championship club in 2004. He was a member of two conference championship teams as well.
“My SLS years were very special,” he said. “Some of the closest friendships I have ever had and really the best memories that I have had, I made there.
“Nothing compares to high school football. Just the closeness that you have with all your teammates. You are all around the same age, going to school together every single day and going through everything together. I have a lot of wonderful memories of here at SLS that I will never forget.”
Those experiences are part of the reason why Gradkowski returns to provide nuggets of knowledge to area players.
“I’m happy to be here for the opportunity to try to teach some young kids some lessons and different techniques,” he said. “I’m just trying to do the best that I can so that they can leave with something. Hopefully, they learned some things. I just see it as an opportunity to be still around football, be around young guys who want to do well in the sport and help them out the best that I can.”
Gradkowski’s best enabled him to reach the pinnacle in football. He notes though he didn’t get there by himself.
“My whole NFL career was a dream come true,” he said. “I learned a lot from a lot of great teammates and great coaches and a lot of life lessons just from going through that.”
Gradkowski stresses those tenants to his students. He adheres to his principles.
“The main thing that I always remind myself is that the situation that we are in is never final and it’s always changing. We are going to go through different seasons of our life,” he said.
“We get these opportunities but they are not going to last forever. So the important thing is to not allow the negative things to block out the positive. To be able to focus on all the blessings that are happening. Take everything in stride. Work as hard as you can. Embrace the season that you are in and try to do the best that you can.”