New England Patriots

Imagine getting a personal tour of Patriots headquarters with Julian Edelman -- capped off with a Madden showdown in the STADIUM VIP CLUB!

That's exactly what happened to 3 awesome kids on Thursday, by way of the Make-A-Wish Foundation ... and it was every bit as cool as it sounds!

Edelman (it's really him, he's just beardless now) met up with Dante (8), Carlos (17) and Tyler (14) and granted their wish to hang with the Pats star.

He even fired up Madden for a Super Bowl 49 rematch -- Pats vs. Seahawks -- and check out how fired up JE gets when his team reached paydirt.

Great game. Great day. Props to everyone involved.

Tom Brady’s getting to create his own BIG MONEY Aston Martin ... and you can be one of 12 proud owners if you’re willing to shell out around $300k.

Brady just announced his partnership with AM – a luxury car brand the superstar QB has been rocking with for a minute.

"As a long-time fan and driver, I am honored to join the Aston Martin team at this special moment in the company's history,” Brady said.

#12's making his own version of the 2018 Vanquish S ... and it's expected to be branded as the DB12 to match his jersey number. Keeping with the theme, only 12 will be released, per ESPN's Darren Rovell.

"At the end of the day, I know [Tom Brady's] gonna do what's best for his health" ... so says Rodney Harrison.

Rodney didn't just play with Tom, they're friends -- and the ex-Patriots star says he knows Tom is always keeping his health as the top priority when he's playing.

Of course, Brady made headlines this week when his wife, Gisele, said Tom has concussions all the time ... but "we don't talk about [them]."

The concern is that Tom is hiding serious brain injuries to avoid missing playing time.

But Rodney doesn't believe Tom would do that -- saying, "I've known Brady for a long time. He's a great guy."

There is this ... Rodney seems to be suggesting many players could potentially suffer concussions during games and they're not properly diagnosed."

The NFL is disputing Gisele's claims that Tom Brady secretly suffered a concussion during the 2016 season ... saying there's no evidence the Patriots QB suffered any sort of head injury.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy just issued a statement saying, "We have reviewed all reports relating to Tom Brady from the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants and certified athletic trainer spotters who worked at Patriots' home and away 2016 season games as well as club injury reports that were sent to the league office."

"There are no records that indicate that Mr. Brady suffered a head injury or concussion, or exhibited or complained of concussion symptoms."

"Today we have been in contact with the NFLPA and will work together to gather more information from the club's medical staff and Mr. Brady."

"The health and safety of our players is our foremost priority and we want to ensure that all our players have and continue to receive the best care possible."

The NFL Players Association is "looking into" the statements made by Gisele about Tom Brady suffering a concussion last year that was not reported in NFL injury reports.

After Gisele appeared on "CBS This Morning" and told Charlie Rose about Tom's secret history of concussions ... we reached out to the NFLPA for comment.

We were told, "Right now, we have no official statement, but we are looking into."

Gisele's comments have sparked all sorts of questions -- with people wondering if Tom or the Patriots intentionally hid the information from the NFL so Tom wouldn't have to miss game time.

We've also reached out to Tom and the Patriots for comment -- so far, no official comments from either camp.

Tom Brady suffered a football-related concussion last year that nobody knew about -- and he secretly gets concussions all the time -- so says his wife, Gisele.

The supermodel appeared on "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday and expressed frustration with Tom's health ... particularly the brain injuries he suffers on the field.

"Football ... like he had a concussion last year," Gisele said.

"I mean he has concussions pretty much every [year] ... I mean, we don't talk about. But he does have concussions."

This could be a big deal ... considering Brady was not listed on the NFL injury list for a concussion once in 2016. It begs the question ... was the injury covered up to keep him on the field?

In the NFL, if a player is diagnosed with a concussion during a game, he is NOT allowed to return to the field for the remainder of that game. He may return the following week at the discretion of his doctor.

"I don’t really think it’s a healthy thing for your body to go through like, through that kind of aggression like, all the time–that cannot be healthy for you, right?"

"I mean I’m planning on having him be healthy and do a lot of fun things when we’re like 100, I hope."

Tom Brady is scaring the living hell out of Patriots fans -- not only is he on the new cover of Madden ... but he's essentially sticking his middle finger up at the curse!!!

Now that Aaron Hernandez is no longer a convicted murderer, Robert Kraft WILL fork over a check for the $6 million he reportedly owes the ex-NFL star ... so says Willie McGinest.

As we previously reported, Aaron's legal team has been in contact with NFL agents to determine if the New England Patriots will have to pay out the remainder of his deal due to the abatement of his murder conviction.

McGinest -- who played 12 seasons with the Patriots -- says he believes Kraft will ultimately oblige and pay what he owes ... for 2 reasons.

The first reason -- McGinest says Kraft "has a heart" and will want to make sure Aaron's daughter is taken care of.

The second reason -- McGinest says if the law requires him to pay, he's not the kind of guy who will try to duck his obligation.

Aaron Hernandez's attorney, Jose Baez, says his legal team is in talks with the NFL player's former agents to see how the abatement of his murder conviction will affect his contract with the Patriots.

There are theories that with the murder conviction erased, the New England Patriots will be on the hook to pay out the remainder of his contract to Aaron's estate ... a number reportedly around $6 million.

Baez says Aaron's family and legal team are still grieving over Aaron's death and while they're exploring their options, they're not rushing to action.

As for prosecutors suggesting that Hernandez planned to kill himself in a plot to exploit the abatement doctrine to force the Patriots to pay out his family ... Baez says it's a long shot theory and "I don't give it any shred of credibility at this point."

9:05 AM PT -- The Bristol County D.A.'s Office just said they plan to appeal the judge's decision.

Aaron Hernandez's conviction for the murder of Odin Lloyd has officially been dismissed by a judge.

The case went before the court in Massachusetts early Tuesday morning where Hernandez's team argued that the conviction cannot stand because he had not exhausted all of his appeals before his death. The doctrine is called abatement ab initio.

Prosecutors argued against it -- claiming Hernandez knew about the rule and used it as a loophole in a diabolical plot to get millions of dollars from the Patriots for his family.

The evidence, prosecutors claim, was spelled out in his suicide note to his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins ... in which he told her, "You're rich!"

Prosecutors say Hernandez knew if his conviction was erased the Patriots would have to pay out the remainder of his NFL contract ... estimated to be worth around $6 million.

Prosecutors claimed he shouldn't be rewarded for cutting his own appeal short by committing suicide -- but ultimately the judge didn't see it their way ... and cleared the conviction.

Odin Lloyd's family was in the courtroom when the judge announced her decision. They were visibly upset and left the courtroom in a rush.

Tom Brady is all about tradition -- so, he's rounded up some of his favorite New England Patriots teammates and they're all flying to the Kentucky Derby on a private jet.

Tom's backups Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett joined other Pats like Julian Edelman for the trip to Churchill Downs for the big race this weekend ... as seen in the pic first posted by Pats color analyst Scott Zolak.

Once they landed, the guys met up with Aaron Rodgers.

Tom does the Derby almost every year -- but our favorite memory is when his then-teammate Wes Welker won BIG and handed out $100 bills to random people.

Another comeback for Julian Edelman?

Just a few months after calling it quits, the Patriots WR and supermodel Adriana Lima reconnected in NYC Monday night to party together after the Met Gala ... but it's not exactly a reconciliation.

The two were spotted together hitting up Rihanna's after-party at 1 OAK -- where they arrived in the same car.

Our sources tell us things were pretty frosty between the two after they split earlier this year -- but it seems the ice has thawed. We're told they're definitely NOT back together but it's clear they're on much better terms.

Edelman and Lima were not each other's dates for the Gala -- Edelman arrived to the affair with fellow Pats WR Danny Amendola and they sat at Tom Brady's table.

After Julian Edelman made that INSANE catch at Super Bowl 51, he gave the gloves he was wearing to someone very special ... Guy Fieri's son!!

Turns out, Julian and Guy are pretty good friends -- and after that insane comeback, the Patriots star spotted Guy and his kid on the field ... and wanted to give them a game-used souvenier!

Guy says his kid was PUMPED -- but as fate would have it, he didn't get to keep them that long ... because days after the game, they got a call from someone very important asking to hand them over.

The Fieris complied -- but don't worry, the gloves are in a very cool place ... and Edelman made sure he got some cool replacement gear.

It's good to be a Fieri!

Tom Brady didn't get his White House visit sacked by his supermodel wife ... that's according to his ex-teammate, Donte Stallworth, who tells TMZ Sports Brady would never duck his guy, Donald Trump.

The lawyer for Odin Lloyd's family says the New England Patriots may be on the hook to pay Aaron Hernandez $6 MILLION from his NFL contract ... but he wants the team to give the money to the victim's family instead.

Douglas Sheff -- who represents Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward -- addressed the media about "abatement" ... the law in Massachusetts that essentially erases a conviction if the person dies before he's exhausted all of his appeals.

Sheff says he's spoken with experts who say if Hernandez's murder conviction is erased, the Patriots may be forced to pay out part of his contract ... which could total $6 million.

Sheff says the Lloyd family intends to fight like hell for that money.

He also makes a "friendly challenge" to the Patriots to work with the NFL Players Association in working out a deal to pay that money to the families of the victims in Hernandez's murder cases instead of giving it to Aaron's estate.

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.