Gronkowski, Sabathia show off NHL skills at Fanatics Fest

Rob Gronkowski hit Fanatics Fest with his best shot. 

The New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend took shots at the NHL booth at Fanatics Fest NYC on Thursday as part of the Fanatics Games. The goal was to make shots into a small hole in the center of a net from several distances. Gronkowski had no problem making three of his five shots.

As part of the Fanatics Games this weekend, 50 celebrities and athletes are competing with 50 fans across eight events in all sports including hockey, baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, soccer, golf and mixed martial arts. Each person's six-best scores among the eight events were counted, with the winner getting $1 million. Second prize is a 2025 Ferrari, and third place receives a Lionel Messi Patch autograph (worth $250,000). There also will be other prizes, awarded to the top fan, if none finish in the top three, as well as to the top female competitor.

Gronkowski was joined Thursday by baseball Hall of Famers CC Sabathia and David Ortiz, Detroit Lions players Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes, women's gold medalist Megan Keller and Twitch streamer Tota.

Throughout the weekend, others such as former NFL players Tom Brady, Eli Manning, WWE star John Cena, tennis legends Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, NBA player James Harden and New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart will also be competing this year.

In addition, NHL players Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes and Brock Nelson, who won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Hockey Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist and Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time goals leader, will be some of the hockey players in attendance throughout the weekend.