New England Patriots

Rob Gronkowski is one of the best damn players in the NFL, and he's sick of not getting paid like it -- so says ex-Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins.

You've probably heard ... rumors have been swirling about Gronk splitting with New England all offseason long -- for reasons ranging from his relationship with Bill Belichick to just being tired of football.

But according to Jermaine, the biggest thing doggin' Rob is his contract.

"I definitely think he's frustrated with the money that he gets when you look at what he does," Wiggins told TMZ Sports.

"He should be getting paid $15-16 million a year, but he's not, so there's definitely that frustration there."

Jermaine says it's obvious Gronk is the league's most dangerous receiver -- "by far more valuable" than top WRs like Antonio Brown and Julio Jones -- so getting paid way less than 'em ain't right.

NFL star Devonta Freeman says the New England Patriots would be the PERFECT place for Johnny Manziel to restart his pro career ... saying Bill Belichick and Co. can help him turn things around.

We spoke with the Pro Bowler about Johnny's Comeback SZN campaign ... and D.F. says "the sky's the limit" for the troubled QB ... and he thinks finding home in Foxborough would be a great football move.

Freeman says he's not surprised by the reported interest 'cause he knows how Belichick operates ... and he thinks that's the kinda atmosphere that should be surrounding Johnny.

Gisele Bundchen says Tom Brady will decide when Tom Brady hangs it up, not her ... disputing past reports that she's begging him to call it quits.

Brady's supermodel wife spoke candidly about her relationship with Tom in a recent interview -- telling the Wall Street Journal she would NEVER force retirement on her man ... knowing he'd resent her for it.

“It’s not my decision to make. It’s his decision, and he knows it. It wouldn’t be fair any other way," Gisele said.

Gisele says all she wants is for Brady to be happy ... though she admits she is concerned over the lasting impact of the concussions he's suffered in his career.

Rest easy Gronk, the scumbag who allegedly broke into your Massachusetts house is behind bars.

Gronkowski's house was burglarized on February 5 ... while RG was in Minnesota for the Super Bowl. Gronk's bedroom was locked, so the burglars never entered his room ... however, stuff was taken from the house.

After a 6-week investigation, Foxborough PD announced they arrested a man named Anthony Almeida -- 31 years old.

Almeida was charged with breaking and entering, 2 counts of receiving stolen property, and malicious destruction of property.

Police say they recovered an Apple Watch, a Rolex, and 2 rare coins. They are still looking for multiple firearms that were taken.

But that's not all ... cops are on the hunt for 2 other men they believe also participated in the robbery.

FYI -- Gronk PERSONALLY made the 911 call ... saying "This isn't an emergency ... this is just uh, Rob Gronkowski calling. And while I was gone, my whole house got robbed while on the Super Bowl trip and I just got back."

The New England Patriots went above and beyond for the Parkland, FL students ... sending the team jet to fly them to D.C. for this weekend's March for Our Lives.

Owner Robert Kraft reportedly made the gesture at the request of AZ Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Marjory Stoneman Douglas students got a taste of the Tom Brady life ... along with their parents and some of their teachers. Theater teacher Melody Herzfeld, in the middle of this pic, huddled in a closet with her students on Feb. 14 when the shooting began.

Everyone seemed grateful for the Patriots' charitable move ... posting pics from the tarmac and onboard the jet.

Aaron Hernandez was gay -- according to several people close to him ... and his private struggle with his sexuality caused him great emotional pain that may have turned him violent.

It's all part of the Oxygen documentary, "Aaron Hernandez Uncovered" -- which features interviews with Aaron's close friends, ex-girlfriends and members of his legal team.

Aaron's college girlfriend, Alyssa Anderson, says she first learned Aaron had a relationship with a man while they were attending the University of Florida ... but he denied it at the time. It was only years later that Hernandez cryptically acknowledged her suspicions were true.

George Leontire -- an openly gay member of Hernandez's defense team -- says he spoke with Hernandez at length about his sexuality and Aaron opened up like never before.

"This man clearly was gay," Leontire said ... "[He] acknowledged it. Acknowledged the immense pain that it caused him."

Leontire added, "I think that he also came out of a culture that was so negative about gay people that he exhibited some self-hatred."

Hernandez never spoke publicly about being gay. He was engaged to a woman, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, and they had a daughter together.

Aaron was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013 -- and there are some law enforcement officials who believe Hernandez executed Lloyd because he knew about Hernandez's sexuality.

Hernandez ultimately killed himself in his prison cell in 2017.

Tom Brady is finally showing everyone the hand injury he suffered during the NFL playoffs -- and it's WAYYYY worse than everyone thought ... a massive, deep, bloody gash.

Remember, Brady got the cut in practice just days before the AFC Championship -- but tried like hell to downplay the severity of the wound.

Well, now he's revealing all the gory details on his reality show, "Tom vs Time" -- and it's a miracle he was able to throw the ball at all.

"When I hurt my thumb, I thought, ‘This is it. This is the way the season ends,'" Tom said.

"I’m looking down at my thumb as it’s split open, and I’m thinking ‘I really don’t know what happened to my thumb, but I know it doesn’t feel good and I’m having a real hard time believing I’m going to go out and play well against the #1 ranked defense in four days.'"

Of course, Brady ended up beating the Jaguars before losing to the Eagles in the Super Bowl -- but he played like a BEAST considering the friggin' hatchet wound on his thumb ... which got a healthy dose of acupuncture after it was stitched up.

Johnny Manziel says backing up Tom Brady for the Patriots would be a dream come true for him -- telling TMZ Sports, "I'll go to New England in a heartbeat!"

Manziel was reacting to NFL Network's Nate Burleson who recently spelled out why he thinks Johnny going to N.E. actually makes sense.

Clearly, Johnny's all about it!

Manziel was out at The Nice Guy in L.A. over the weekend -- sober and in a great mood. He also talked about all the big topics in the NFL ... from the Browns to the Broncos to his friend, Mike Evans.

"He got PAAAAAAAIIIIDDDDD," Manziel said -- clearly fired up for his old Texas A&M receiver who just inked a 5-year extension worth up to $82.5 MILLION!

As for the Browns, Johnny seems optimistic about their future after making some blockbuster trades last week -- but only because ya can't get any worse than 0-16.

"Anything is better than what they were!"

Wow, talk about a twist!

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has just confirmed reports that his 38-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a secret baby -- but he insists he's NOT the daddy!

Ricki Noel Lander gave birth to the kid back in 2017 but nobody knew about it until Page Six broke the story Wednesday evening. It seemed 76-year-old Kraft was the father since they've been dating for about 5 years.

But, Kraft's reps just issued a "Billy Jean"-style statement saying -- the kid is not my son.

"Last fall, Ricki Noel Lander became the proud mother of a beautiful, healthy baby," the rep tells TMZ Sports.

"While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Ricki’s blessing of having a healthy child. With respect to her family’s privacy, we will not be commenting any further."

6:43 AM PT -- Kraft's reps just issued a statement saying he is actually NOT the father of his GF's baby.

"While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Ricki’s blessing of having a healthy child."

Age ain't nothin' but a number for Robert Kraft ... the 76-year-old Patriots owner's 38-year-old girlfriend has reportedly given birth to a secret baby -- and signs point to Kraft being the daddy.

Kraft's GF, Ricki Noel Lander, gave birth to the baby in 2017, according to Page Six ... but kept everything from the pregnancy to the delivery out of the public eye.

When reached for comment, the Patriots told Page Six, "This is a private matter."

Kraft -- who already has 4 adult sons -- reportedly bought Lander a home in Los Angeles and is taking care of both Ricki and the baby.

We've seen them out and about for years -- most recently back in December when they were strolling around Beverly Hills together and Kraft bragged that he was with a "lovely lady."

Sooooo ... congrats!?

What do Rick Ross and Tom Brady have in common?? When they connect with Gronk ... amazing things happen.

Rozay -- who can basically be dubbed Gronk's off-season QB at this point -- recruited the Pats superstar to get the crowd turnt at Rockwell nightclub's 2nd anniversary party in Miami over the weekend ... and man, did it work.

We're told R.R. noticed Gronk in the crowd and called him up on stage for a song ... busting out moves that only Gronk can pull off. As a thank-you, Ross hooked up Gronk's table with some Belaire Rose after his lit performance!!

Of course ... Ross and Gronk go WAYYY back -- remember when the dynamic duo got CRAZY celebrating the Super Bowl win a year ago??

Bill Belichick didn't win the Super Bowl -- but he's winning at life.

Here's Bill's long-term girlfriend, Linda Holliday, stuntin' in a fishnet 1-piece somewhere a hell of a lot warmer than New England ... and lookin' damn good.

No sign of Bill -- guessing he's behind the camera in a hoodie.

It's the second beach pic Linda's shared since the Super Bowl ... but play time's over for her Coach Belichick, 'cause she also mentioned they just got back to Boston.

Sure Bill's stoked to get back to work -- though we bet he prefers hangin' with a half-naked Linda.

By the way, Bill and Linda reportedly met back in 2007 and began dating shortly after that. Since they've been together, the Patriots have been to 5 Super Bowls and won 2 of 'em.

Rob Gronkowski and his family are raging through New England -- hitting up 3 children's hospitals in less than 24 hours ... in a mission to give away a TON of cash!!

Rob -- along with his bro Dan and father Gordie -- decided today would be the day they distributed the $75,000 they raised by raffling off tickets to the Super Bowl.

The donation spree started off at Boston Children's Hospital -- where the Gronks played games with the kids and then presented a big, ol $25,000 check!!!

Dan tells TMZ Sports the family is en route to Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine -- followed by Hasbro Children's Hospital in Rhode Island.

And yes, each hospital gets a big $25k check -- and some play time with the Gronks!

If Rob Gronkowski retires from football ... could he have a 2nd career in the WWE ring?!

That's what Gronk's best buddy, WWE superstar Mojo Rawley, hinted at before the Super Bowl ... just 1 day before Rob shocked the NFL universe by saying he might not be back in 2018.

"It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of WHEN," Mojo told TMZ Sports, before adding, "I can't speak for him."

Hard to think Gronk -- injury (and concussion) history aside -- would call it quits at age 28 ... especially to get body-slammed in the ring.

That said ... you can't deny he's got the look.

Tom Brady says he's done some reflecting after losing to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII -- and he's THANKING them for "bringing out the best in us."

"There are many emotions when you come up short of your goal. And they are all part of learning and growing in this journey of life," Brady said in an Instagram post.

"Learning turns everything into a postitive. And the number one feeling I have had the past 4 days is gratitude"

Brady gave some love on IG to his teammates, coaches and the Patriots organization -- before shouting out Philly.

"Gratitude to the Philadelphia Eagles team and organization for bringing out the best in us and being gracious winners (as well as congratulations on winning the championship)."

He also thanked the fans "who showed up every week to cheer us on and commit their time and energy and love and support to what our goals are. And gratitude to my family and friends who continue to love and support my dreams."

Dry your tears, Patriots fans ... if Chicago Bears star Kyle Long is right, Rob Gronkowski isn't going anywhere anytime soon, 'cause Long tells TMZ Sports all the retirement talk is just that ... talk.

After the Super Bowl, Gronk said he was pondering his future in football -- some think he'll actually retire.

But not Long -- who strongly believes Gronk has a lot of football left in him and will return to the Patriots next year.