What does Rob Gronkowski's retirement mean to the cap now, and if he un-retires?

On March 24 Rob Gronkowski announced on Instagram his retirement from football.

What does it mean to the Patriots' salary cap now and if he decides to un-retire?

In the near term, it created $9,214,375 in cap space for the Patriots as his $11,859,375 cap number is now off the Patriots books. The $11,859,375 cap number consisted of:

• $9,000,000 salary


• $800,000 proration of $4 million signing bonus


• $1,200,000 proration of $6 million option bonus


• $250,000 in offseason workout bonus money


• $609,375 in 46-man active roster bonuses. ($46,875 per game). Gronk was active for 13 games in 2018.