I have respect for any man that makes it to NFL for even a single game it's not relatively easy to play like baseball, sure it's a skill game but they aren't necessarily trying to kill you on the baseball diamond.
Some have said NFL=not for long.
Just off the top of my head I'll give you two guys that managed to play in the NFL for a spell and went on to fairly successful acting careers.
Terry Crews 32 games . He's much better as an actor and has been in numerous roles, maybe best known as Julius from everybody hates Chris.
Another guy is Alan Autry, best known for his portrayal of Bubba in the heat of the night.he played 26 games for the Packers (as Carlos Brown) ,in the mid 70's and CFL also more acting credits as well. He was also a 2 term mayor of Fresno, pretty impressive to do those 3 things.
Playing in the NFL for a long time like Gronk did is remarkable especially for a non- quarterback or a kicker.