Exclusive: Rob Gronkowski No Longer Under WWE Contract

Rob Gronkowski lost the WWE 24/7 title to R-Truth in his own backyard on Monday's episode of WWE Monday Night RAW. Gronk had held the title since he pinned his good friend Mojo Rawley during night two of WrestleMania 36 this past April.

Gronkowski signed with WWE this past March and was expected to work a match at SummerSlam in August. Wrestling Inc. has learned that the match will not be happening.

According to a source familiar with the situation, Gronkowski had a release clause in his contract that he exercised since he is returning to the NFL to play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this upcoming season. While Gronkowski could likely make some appearances for the company, he will not be wrestling for them in the near future.

While Gronkowski has no other obligations to WWE, he can't work for another wrestling company for a set period of time as part of the release clause.

Gronkowski has stated in the past that he would like to have "one crazy match" in WWE.

"With wrestling, I don't feel like I would be a full-time wrestler, but there is one thing I'm down for," Gronkowski said at a press conference last year, via CBS Sports. "And that's to do one crazy match. Practice it for a little bit, go out there, like in a Royal Rumble, go out there, I got my friend in WWE [Rawley], practice it and do a full-on WWE match. I'm not saying when. Maybe five years. I got the rest of my life to do that. I've always dreamed about doing that, just one time, going in there and going full out. That may be a possibility, one time, down the road."