New England Patriots

Seems Donald Trump isn't happy with Tom Brady -- because he didn't mention the QB's name ONCE at the White House ceremony honoring the New England Patriots.

Of course, Brady did not attend the ceremony, citing "personal family matters" -- shocking considering the two were supposedly friends.

Donald Trump has sung Brady's praises publicly on numerous occasions, saying he is the greatest QB who ever lived -- so for him to go radio silent during the ceremony sends a strong message ... he's pissed.

Rob Gronkowski offered his services to the Trump Administration Wednesday morning -- crashing Sean Spicer's White House briefing to ask if he needed any help!

Of course, Gronk's in town with the rest of the New England Patriots (minus Tom Brady and a few others) to visit President Trump for winning the Super Bowl.

Spicer laughed. The press laughed. And then it was back to Iran.

Meantime, the players who did show up took a photo at the White House along with team owner Robert Kraft and a bunch of their Super Bowl trophies.

Notable players besides Brady who appear to have skipped the 1600 Penn visit ... Danny Amendola, Dont'a Hightower, LeGarrette Blount, Martellus Bennett, Devin McCourty, James White, Michael Floyd, Chris Long, Dion Lewis, Patrick Chung, and Malcolm Butler.

Aaron Hernandez killed himself in his Massachusetts prison cell late Tuesday night using a bed sheet, this according to prison officials.

The 27-yr-old ex-NFL star had just been acquitted in a double murder case on Friday and his lawyer Jose Baez had told TMZ Sports he believed Hernandez had a real shot at getting a previous murder conviction overturned.

But Wednesday morning, officials at the maximum security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Massachusetts found Aaron dead in his cell.

"Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window," a rep for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections said in a statement.

"Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items."

Officials say Hernandez was discovered at 3:05 AM on Wednesday morning, and they tried to save his life. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 AM.

A prison official told local news there does not appear to be a suicide note at the scene.

Aaron is survived by his 4-year-old daughter.

FYI, the Souza-Baranowski CC is considered one of the most high tech maximum security prisons in the country with hundreds of security cameras installed all over the facility.

Officials say they're investigating -- we're guessing there will be TONS of security footage to go through.

Hernandez was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd. He had also been on trial for killing Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado near a Boston nightclub in 2012 but was found not guilty of murder in that case.

The New England Patriots are still expected to visit President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday ... despite the prison suicide of former Pats player Aaron Hernandez.

The Patriots had been scheduled to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. after winning the Super Bowl -- Hernandez was obviously not a part of the championship team, but people are wondering if the news of his death will be too much of a distraction to go through with the visit.

Aaron Hernandez's lawyer, Jose Baez, is adamant the ex-NFL star is "not a killer" -- and says the jury in his double murder case GOT IT RIGHT with the not guilty verdict.

Baez says there was "an abundance" of reasonable doubt in the case -- and tells us he's very happy for Aaron and his family now that the former New England Patriots tight end has been exonerated.

Another win for the greatest of all time ... with Bill Belichick finding a way to get out of testifying in the Aaron Hernandez double murder case without getting in trouble with the court.

The New England Patriots head coach was initially named a witness for the defense. Unclear what they expected to get out of Belichick, but nonetheless, they wanted his testimony.

So, when he didn't show up during the hearing, questions arose ... until today.

The judge addressed Hernandez's lawyer, Jose Baez, and said the clerk had received a call from Belichick's attorney wondering if he was in trouble for not participating in the case.

Baez explained that his people TRIED to serve Belichick with papers compelling him to testify -- but they had a very hard time getting the papers to the coach in a timely manner.

"The reason for the delay on that part was the community where he lived," Baez told the judge ... "Our process server was not able to get him numerous times."

When they finally got to Belichick, the trial was wrapping up so Baez and his team "made a strategic decision to release him from service of process."

Ultimately, Baez said ... "We didn't think his testimony was critical to the defense so we released him."

Bottom line -- Belichick ducked the court without consequences.

It took an international investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies ... but Tom Brady finally got his stolen Super Bowl jerseys back!!!

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft presented the jerseys from Super Bowl 51 and Super Bowl 49 to Brady early Monday morning -- and Tom seemed thrilled about getting them back!

As we previously reported, the jerseys were allegedly stolen by Mauricio Ortega -- a Mexican news director who had access to Super Bowl locker rooms for at least the past 10 years.

Authorities recovered the jerseys at the reporter's home in Mexico -- along with Von Miller's helmet from Super Bowl 50.

Rob Gronkowski is apparently a wrestler now during the off-season ... he just kicked some ass in the ring at WrestleMania 33.

The Pats star was in the crowd Sunday watching his pal Mojo Rawley get pummeled by Jinder Mahal during the 4th annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal ... and then decided to step in when Jinder got in his own face.

What happens next is nothing short of epic, and is sure to go down in WWE (and probably NFL) history.

GRONK WITH THE TAKEDOWN!!!

Tom Brady can ONLY be stopped from playing deep into his 40s by an injury ... or Gisele.

TMZ Sports asked Pats legend Deion Branch -- who won 2 Super Bowls with Brady -- if the 39-year-old Golden Boy can actually ball 6 or 7 more seasons ... like Robert Kraft says TB wants.

Branch's take? As long as the O-line keeps Tom upright ... and Gisele doesn't mind Tom being away from home, there's no reason he can't start at QB for several more years.

Pats owner Robert Kraft was actually happy to see the FBI -- because they forked over Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jerseys!!!

The Bureau posted this photo shot at Gillette Stadium Thursday ... where the QB's Super Bowl 49 and 51 jerseys were returned from Mexico. The recovery was the result of a massive international jersey hunt that led to a reporter in Mexico whom authorities say was the thief.

Kraft said, "We want to thank the FBI, the Mexican authorities and the many different local agencies that were involved in the investigation and ultimate recovery of Tom Brady's Super Bowl LI jersey."

He added, "Working along with the Patriots and NFL security, those agencies collectively coordinated an investigation that also led to the recovery of Tom's missing Super Bowl XLIX jersey."

Nicely done!

THEY'RE BACK!!

Here are the first photos of Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl 49 & 51 jerseys since they were recovered by Mexican authorities!

VIVA MEXICO!!!

The Mexican Attorney General's Office has released the photos of the uniforms.

You can see the grass stains from the SB 49 jersey -- when the Patriots defeated the Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona.

The jerseys were allegedly jacked by Mauricio Ortega -- who was a credentialed member of the international media when he went into the Patriots locker room and swiped the #12 unis.

Tom Brady says he's PUMPED to get his Super Bowl jerseys back -- and gave a big shout out to the cops who helped track it down.

"I am happy my jerseys from SB 49 and SB 51 have been recovered," Brady said in a statement.

"I want to thank all of the law enforcement agencies involved. I know they worked hard on this case -- and it is very much appreciated."

"Hopefully when I get the jerseys back I can make something very positive come from this experience."

Does the criminal craziness surrounding Tom Brady's jersey INCREASE the value? We went to the expert -- Rick Harrison from "Pawn Stars."

11:28 AM PT -- The suspect's name is Mauricio Ortega -- a former executive at a Mexican news organization called "Diario La Prensa."

According to La Prensa, Ortega resigned from his position on March 14th. The paper was unaware of the investigation into Ortega until today.

Here is video of the man suspected of stealing Tom Brady's Super Bowl jersey ... according to Ian Rappaport of NFL Network ... and it sure looks like he's got something under his arm.

Robert Kraft traveled on Air Force One ... in his Air Force 1s.

How cool is that?

The New England Patriots owner flew from West Palm Beach, FL to D.C. on POTUS' plane on Sunday.

After the flight, Kraft was transported to the South Lawn of the White House on Marine One.

The two had spent the weekend at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. No word on what they talked about.

9:02 AM PT -- Sources connected to the investigation tell us 2 Patriots jerseys and 1 Broncos helmet were recovered in Mexico.

The Broncos helmet is likely that of Von Miller, as Jay Glazer reported.

We're told no cleats have been recovered ... at least not yet.

Glazer said Miller's cleats also went M.I.A. after Super Bowl 50. Unclear if it's connected to this investigation.

The man who jacked Tom Brady's Super Bowl jerseys may have ALSO stolen Von Miller's helmet and cleats from Super Bowl 50 ... so says Jay Glazer.

Glazer appeared on "Undisputed" on FS1 and said investigators used video footage to identify the suspect in the Super Bowl 51 caper.

Glazer says investigators saw the suspect enter the locker room behind Bill Belichick and leave a short time later with something tucked under his arm.

Glazer says the suspect had a legitimate media credential -- but may not be a real journalist. He may have been running a scam.

And get this ... Glazer says the Denver Broncos believe the suspect hit Von Miller in the previous Super Bowl.

Story developing ...