Madden San Miguel (born November 4, 2012), better known by his nickname, Baby Gronk, is an American youth football player and social media personality.
Born to Jake San Miguel, San Miguel developed a rigorous love for football at a young age. His father, who claims to have master-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. Due to his size, he was nicknamed "Baby Gronk" in honor of football player Rob Gronkowski. Wanting for him and his son to go viral, Jake, a digital marketer, promoted his son's football skills online, leading to him amassing a large social media following in the early 2020s. Jake frequently shepherded his son across the country, meeting with high-profile celebrities and catching the eyes of universities due to his talent on the field.
In March 2023, San Miguel met Louisiana State University social media personality and gymnast Olivia Dunne; videos of the interaction were posted on San Miguel's social media. A TikTok video commentating on the incident subsequently went viral in June, and Jake received extensive backlash, largely in regards to the sexually explicit marketing of the interaction and general dislike over his creation of the Baby Gronk persona.
Early life
Madden San Miguel was born on November 4, 2012, in Frisco, Texas, United States. His father, Jake San Miguel, named him after the football coach and commentator, John Madden.
Jake played football in his youth, having been a running back in high school and playing for Emporia State University, but claimed that "drugs got in the way" of him playing at the higher level. Jake spent much of his life in and out of prison and his father was imprisoned for murder. Jake stated in 2022 that he sought to "break the family curse" with Madden. Jake has stated that he planned out San Miguel's life prior to his birth, claiming to have had a blueprint for his son's life at ages 15–16. In a TMZ interview in 2023, he stated that his goal was to become a millionaire by his senior year of high school "with or without football."
San Miguel became involved in football during pre-school at age 5, after seeing football videos on YouTube. San Miguel has been noted for his immense size; in 2021, at age 9, he was and weighed . 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, 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. 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. 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, and his fitness was also rigorously monitored. San Miguel hopes to head to the NFL.
Social media virality
Jake, a digital marketer with a thirst for internet fame, promoted his son's feats online, primarily Instagram. By August 2020, San Miguel's account on Instagram had amassed 100 thousand followers, including San Miguel's favorite player, Ezekiel Elliott, then running back for the Dallas Cowboys who met San Miguel while he was in kindergarten, as well as other NFL players such as George Kittle, and Aqib Talib. San Miguel's internet fame garnered the attention of rapper Boosie, who signed the boy to his marketing and sports management group in May 2020.
Jake frequently utilized the attention his son received to shepherd him throughout universities across the United States, with his abnormal good skills in football grabbing the attention of many of them, who sought to recruit the boy. In 2021, San Miguel verbally committed to the University of Oregon.
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." The piece opens by describing a scene where San Miguel exits a lamborghini with a "Baby Gronk" diamond chain, exclaiming "I don't play football because I love it, I play for the money!" 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, believing that girls have cooties and liking to beat his friends in video games.