Madden San Miguel (born November 4, 2012), better known by his nickname, Baby Gronk, is an American youth football player and social media personality.
Baby Gronk | |||||||
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| Born | Madden San Miguel November 4, 2012 Frisco, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Known for | American football, social media virality | ||||||
| Height | 4 ft 9 in (145 cm) (2021) | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Presented by | Madden San Miguel Jake San Miguel | ||||||
| Years active | 2021–present | ||||||
| Genre(s) | Comedy, sports, YouTube Shorts | ||||||
| Subscribers | 322 thousand[1] (June 6, 2024) | ||||||
| Total views | 184.2 million[1] (June 6, 2024) | ||||||
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| Website | https://www.instagram.com/maddensanmiguel/?hl=en | ||||||
San Miguel's father, Jake San Miguel, who claims to have planned his son's life prior to his birth, trained him for a career in the National Football League (NFL) while the boy was still in elementary school, micromanaging his diet and exercise. He promotes his son's football skills online, largely via social media. Due to his size, San Miguel was nicknamed "Baby Gronk" in reference to football player Rob Gronkowski.
Early life
Madden San Miguel was born on November 4, 2012, in Frisco, Texas, United States.[2] His father, Jake San Miguel, named him after the football coach and commentator, John Madden.[3]
Jake has stated that he planned out San Miguel's life prior to his birth,[4] claiming to have had a blueprint for his son's life at ages 15–16.[5] In a TMZ interview in 2023, he stated that his goal was for his son to become a millionaire by his son’s senior year of high school "with or without football."[6]
San Miguel became involved in football during pre-school[7] at age 5, after seeing football videos on YouTube.[8] San Miguel has been noted for his size; in 2021, at age 9, he was 4 ft 9 in (145 cm) and weighed 88 pounds (40 kg).[9] The question regarding origin of the nickname "Baby Gronk" has been answered with conflicting accounts; in 2021, San Miguel stated that the nickname was coined by classmates during recess while they were chasing him,[10] while Jake alleged in the same year that it came from when he was visiting San Miguel's school and saw that he had an adult chair instead of a children's chair.[8] Later, in 2022, San Miguel stated the moniker was coined by his father after he dragged his opponents in a game to the end zone after a reception.[11] The term is an homage to Rob Gronkowski, an NFL tight end. Jake oversaw San Miguel's early football career, carefully managing his nutrition; he was put on a diet of chicken, rice, yogurt, oatmeal, and apples,[12] and his fitness was also rigorously monitored.[7]
Social media
Jake, a digital marketer,[9] promoted his son online, primarily Instagram. By August 2020, San Miguel's account on Instagram had 100 thousand followers.[12] San Miguel's internet fame garnered the attention of rapper Boosie, who signed him to his marketing and sports management group in May 2020.[7]
Jake frequently utilized the attention his son received to shepherd him throughout universities across the United States,[13] obtaining the attention of many who sought to recruit the boy.[14] In 2021, San Miguel verbally committed to the University of Oregon.[15]
In 2021, San Miguel was highlighted in a Sports Illustrated interest story by Bri Amaranthus titled "Meet 'Baby Gronk': The 8-Year-Old Football Celebrity and Cowboys Friend."[9][10] The article noted that for all the antics San Miguel played on camera, he was a comparatively normal boy of his age in real life.[10]
Collaboration with Olivia Dunne
| Baby Gronk rizzing Olivia Dunne | |
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.svg){kind=icon} via YouTube | |
 [1] – LIVVY DUNNE KNOWS I GOT RIZZ (March 15, 2023) |
On March 15, 2023, a video was posted to San Miguel's social media pages where he met with Livvy Dunne, a social media influencer and member of the Louisiana State University (LSU) gymnastics team. In the video, Dunne pulls San Miguel towards her for a hug. Journalist Lauren Mechling described San Miguel as visibly awkward, if not flat-out uncomfortable, attributing it to his belief in cooties.[9] In the video, Dunne convinces San Miguel to commit to LSU.
On July 6, Jake posted to San Miguel's Instagram, proclaiming that San Miguel had committed to LSU. The post was deleted shortly after, with Jake taking to Twitter to state that the graphic designer who made the image used in the post had confused which team he was actually committing to. Subsequently, a new post was made, indicating that he was going to the University of Oklahoma.[16]
Subsequent backlash
The sexual marketing of the collaboration resulted in a public backlash, with San Miguel's father Jake receiving criticism for stage parenting and monetarily profiting off his son's internet content.[9]
In response to the pushback, Jake dismissed his critics as "haters". When questioned on the criticism he received following the incident, Jake attributed it to older generations being out of touch, stating "It's a new era, it's a new generation ... The people that are normally jealous of us is kinda older. They just don't get it. The times have changed – Elon Musk about to move us to Mars."[6] In spite of the rampant castigation by those in the sports world, Jake continued to contact many players and sports commentators, asking to collaborate, including social media influencer and former collegiate golfer Paige Spiranac.[17]
The controversy intensified after an April 14[18] episode of the Bring the Juice podcast featuring San Miguel and his father was posted to YouTube. Social media commentators focused particularly on a segment of the episode in which Jake feeds his son answers to questions including whether he would take Dunne to prom.[19] After resurfacing via a tweet on June 13, the clip led to Jake garnering more backlash.[20]
On June 18, a post was made on Baby Gronk's Instagram, declaring that he had retired from football.[9] Writing for The Irish Times, Dave Hannigan ridiculed the move, remarking "A kid fooling around online or serious brand pivot by a father worried about how much the world is appalled at his child exploitation? Truth or scared? Doesn't matter. Still went viral."[21] In spite of the announcement, the controversy persisted. On June 28, while appearing at Tight End University, Rob Gronkowski revealed that Jake had contacted him 500 times in the month prior while on Will Compton and Taylor Lewan's podcast.[22] Gronkowski denounced the fad as annoying, and having "gone too far",[23] and when Lewan[24] later suggested that as the eponym behind San Miguel's moniker, he was the only one capable of putting an end to the Baby Gronk promotion, Gronkowski proceeded to threaten a cease and desist order against Jake.[25]
In reaction to the situation, many highlighted the Baby Gronk fiasco as an exemplary instance of what Mechling described as the "sports dad", stating "San Miguel Sr is the viral, outsize iteration of the parent on the sideline who screams at his kid, his kid's teammate, the kid on the other team, or even a fellow parent. He can't let his kid figure his own life out for himself." Baby Gronk was illustrated as the personification behind the increasing trend of American parents forcing their children to commit much of their youth to sports, largely as a way to combat record low college admissions rates.[9] The dynamic between San Miguel and his father was frequently compared to the plight of various other athletes who also faced immense pressure from their parents, most frequently the relationship between Tiger Woods and Earl Woods.[9][21][19]