A 10-year-old social media sensation popularly known as ‘Baby Gronk’ has been touted as college football’s ‘next big thing’ and was even spotted hanging out with Olivia Dunne, actor Mark Wahlberg and sitting courtside at NBA games.
For most of the past few months, Madden San Miguel has been driven around America’s most popular college towns by his dad, Jake, on an unofficial tour where he could play as an 18-year-old, taking part in educational football camps for young people.
For those unaware, “Baby Gronk” is becoming a bit of a social media influencer, amassing thousands of followers on Instagram.
He is also considered noticeably taller and heavier than most kids his age and uses his large size to outflank opponents, leading his supporters to believe that many college football programs across the country are already interested in trying to recruit him seriously.
On Instagram, he shared photos of himself posing with ex-NBA star and media personality Shaquille O’Neal, actor and producer Mark Wahlberg, and Olivia Dunne, a college gymnastics star for LSU who has also signed lucrative NIL deals after going viral on social media for his talent and looks.
‘I’ve had a plan for my son since before he was born,’ ‘Baby Gronk’ dad says Athleticism. “It’s playing now.”
But what exactly is all the hype behind this primary school football prodigy? Is it even good? How did he get access to all these celebrities? And are colleges and universities actually trying to recruit him at such a tender age?
Here, DailyMail.com take a look at the “next big thing” in college football…
Madden San Miguel aka ‘Baby Gronk’ has gone viral on social media, as has Livvy Dunne (R)
The 10-year-old has been touted as football’s ‘next big star’, visiting several colleges this summer
‘Baby Gronk’s’ has already met several celebrities on his rise to fame, including Mark Wahlberg
Who is he?
Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Madden San Miguel, aka “Baby Gronk,” is a 10-year-old football prodigy who is commonly referred to as a “baby” version of retired NFL star Rob Gronkowsi, also known as of “Gronk”.
And although he’s still years away from graduating from high school, ‘Baby Gronk’s’ dad, Jake, has taken the fourth-grader across the country for unofficial visits to various colleges. and universities.
Madden also knows the pressure that comes with being labeled the “next big thing” in American sports. He has been called a “future soccer SUPERSTAR” since he was six years old and has over 319,000 followers on his verified Instagram account.
The childish sensation also plays five sports, according to his dad, and is 4-foot-9 and weighs 88 pounds, according to Sportskeeda.
“He’s a very humble kid,” Jake San Miguel told The Athletic. “A lot of people don’t know this, but he’s a better player in baseball than football. He’s a really humble kid. Straight-A student.
“The internet shows one thing, but it’s the kid you want in your home. It’s that kid.
Jake’s grandfather was jailed for murder and his father was also locked up behind bars, according to Bay 9 News. ‘Baby Gronk”s father told the Florida-based outlet that he was ‘trying to break the family curse’. Madden is also believed to have a sister.
Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Baby Gronk’s relatively young career is spearheaded by his dad, Jake (L)
Baby’s Gronk has been called a ‘future football superstar’ since he was six (pictured at home)
How did he become famous?
Founded three years ago, ‘Baby Gronk’s Instagram account is managed by his father, who posts content from his son daily. Jake previously revealed that he had a plan for his son even before he was born.
“I was talking about how I was going to train him, how I was going to discipline him, how I was going to build character, how I was going to build work ethic,” the 36-year-old told Bay News 9 in Tampa, Florida in January.
What he ended up building, for now, is an internet superstar, and people can’t seem to get enough of “Baby Gronk” towering over kids his own age and coming out to dominate them on a field of soccer.
As Madden’s social media accounts grew, so did Baby Gronk’s popularity, having already signed endorsement deals and spent time with NFL stars, rappers, and even Miss Florida.
“I was in the music business,” Madden’s father Jake told The Athletic. “I already knew how to market, promote and use the Internet. I knew what I was doing. I was a star in high school – like the Boobie Miles story (in “Friday Night Lights”) – but I know how to coach kids and make kids good at sports.
“I knew my son was going to be pretty good at sports because he was going to be around him. I put the music industry with the athlete and saw the NIL coming and saw the climate change. […] I’m pretty good at this kind of internet stuff.
Although Madden has yet to meet Rob Gronkowski, an outing is in the works. “Baby Gronk” grew his social media platform through viral videos like when he pulled a van with a rope, which got over 20 million views. He hasn’t looked back since then.
He also found success on the field, winning an 8-U national flag football title in Tampa.
Baby Gronk’s racked up multiple NIL deals and hung out with NFL stars, rappers and Miss Florida
Who was he seen with?
With more than 130,000 subscribers on YouTube, and a little more than double on Instagram, ‘Baby Gronk’ has been offered to meet several celebrities, former NFL pros and current athletes, because of his growing notoriety but also his father’s relationship.
“The gym that we train in, all the celebrities and NFL players go there,” Jake told The Athletic. “I met Tony Pollard, Derrick Henry, I met Julius Randle there. (Ezekiel Elliott) and Dak (Prescott) live near us. My friend is Dak’s personal barber, so he cuts Dak, (Michael) Gallup, Pollard. I know Amari Cooper. I’ve been around.
The fourth-grader even posed for a wink with Shaquille O’Neal during an on-court NBA game involving the Houston Rockets. He also met Olivia Dunne, whom he has a “crush” on and even “asked out at prom.”
“He met her on [LSU’s] Campus. … We know her,’ Jake further told The Athletic of his son’s encounter with the LSU gymnastics star, who has 4.1 million Instagram followers. ‘[Through] mutual friends.’
“Baby Gronk” also caught up with two-time Oscar nominee and actor and producer Mark Wahlberg, and also posed for snaps with rapper Fetty Wap, as well as New York Yankees star Aaron Judge and Stephen ESPN’s A. Smith.
Among popular football players, Madden met Mykal Walker of the Atlanta Falcons, Luther Burden of Missouri and Evan Steward of Texas A&M.
Baby Gronk dated many athletes, like Aaron Judge of the Yankees due to his fame
Baby Gronk sat on the court with former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal during a Houston Rockets game
Is it really good?
Although he found himself in the spotlight, Madden enjoyed success on the field, having played in an 8-U Flag Football National Championship in Tampa, Florida.
His team from Frisco, Texas – a suburb of Dallas – shot a perfect six and won their age group, with “Baby Gronk” playing a key role in his team’s race to claim it all. Other than that, not much is known about the ‘next big thing’ in football due to his young age, but he is destined to reach the top, according to his father.
“He moves better than high schoolers. He just doesn’t have the same body,’ Jake told The Athletic. “He plays three levels above. When he comes onto the pitch, he’s the real deal. You have to think about this. He has this big audience and this platform, so when he plays against kids, they wait until they have a climax on him so they can release it.
“We have been doing this for four years. There’s a reason there aren’t any highlights on him. He really works a lot. It’s not just for the content. We train five or six days a week. He is on a diet, he eats healthy food, salmon and brown rice. He’s in a rut. He’s a real athlete. He’s not a normal child.
“Normal children are emotional. They hang their heads when they make mistakes, respond to coaches, they make noise, but he doesn’t do that. He has been trained and programmed since he was six years old.
Baby Gronk is 4ft 9in and weighs 88lbs, way more than most kids his age
The social media accounts and popularity of ‘Baby Gronk’ grew as he made unofficial visits to schools with prestigious football programs, such as the University of Florida, the University of Texas and the University of Kentucky, where he went to the field to train.
As a sophomore, he even committed to playing football at the University of Oregon. Madden’s father also claims his son “got an actual offer, from Arizona, a verbal offer.”
“I can reach anyone. Donald Trump’s son’s wife is following my son,” he added.
“It’s bigger than people think and it’s only getting bigger. It was just posted on TMZ today. This is probably one of the most important things on the internet as an influencer.
“He might be bigger than Bronny James.”
