Rob Gronkowski, three-time professional football champion with several records to his name, announced Tuesday that he has become an advocate for CBD and an investor in Abacus Health Products.

During a press conference announcing the partnership Gronkowski talked about the pain he endured while playing football. And that much like Andrew Luck’s recent retirement, Gronkowski felt he wasn’t mentally able to continue.

Gronkowski says he knew it was over the night after the Super Bowl, “I layed in bed crying because I was in so much pain,” he recalled. “We had just won a Super Bowl and it was the furthest thing from my mind.”

“I didn’t sleep at all that night,” Gronkowski says that for the next several weeks he was lucky to get two hours of sleep per night.

“Physically I could probably go out and play tomorrow, but mentally I’m still not there.”

“I’m excited to start a new chapter of my career as an advocate for recovery and an investor and partner with Abacus — a company that I truly believe in,” Gronkowski said. “During my football career, I pushed myself while recovering from nine surgeries and countless injuries. I was in near constant pain and needed to make a change. After retiring, I looked for better and more natural ways to recover and discovered CBDMEDIC through my dad.  These products have helped me safely manage pain better than anything else I’ve tried.  There is an incredible opportunity to educate people on healthier ways to recover and I’m looking forward to introducing new products with Abacus in the hope of helping millions of Americans balance their active lifestyles with healthy recovery.”

Abacus is the maker of CBDMEDIC, a family of topical medications that combine over the counter (OTC) drug active ingredients with CBD-rich hemp oil and other natural moisturizers and the company says is all-natural.

As part of the agreement, Gronkowski will partner with Abacus to expand  CBDMEDIC’s product line, with new recovery solutions planned for 2020.

Together with Abacus, Gronkowski will launch a complementary health and wellness line of CBD products in early 2020. These CBD products will be developed with Gronkowski’s first-hand insights on pain management and recovery combined with Abacus’s 15 years of pharmaceutical experience specializing in natural solutions. The new Gronk-inspired products will continue to meet the high quality standards of Abacus—using U.S. sourced broad-spectrum, CBD-rich hemp oil that does not contain THC, and therefore, is not psychoactive.

“We’re proud to partner with one of the NFL’s greatest tight ends of all time,” said Abacus CEO Perry Antelman. “Gronk’s passion for living life to the fullest while maintaining a healthy, natural, and pain-free lifestyle aligns perfectly with the mission of our company.  Abacus is focused on providing safe, natural, and effective relief for millions of Americans in need of recovery.”

CBDMEDIC’s products includes 10 OTC topical pain relief medications for muscle and joint pain, back and neck pain, and arthritis-related pain, stiffness and swelling. These products are available for purchase online and at retail locations across the U.S., including CVS Pharmacies and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.