New England Patriots

New England Patriots legend Willie McGinest has been arrested in Los Angeles, TMZ Sports has learned.

The ex-NFL star was booked at around 7:30 AM on Monday morning, jail records show. His bail has been set at $30,000.

It was not immediately clear what crimes he's been accused of.

McGinest, a first-round pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, played in the league for 15 years ... and is considered one of the greatest Patriots players ever.

He won three Super Bowls with the org. ... and made two Pro Bowls with the team as well. The linebacker was ultimately inducted into the franchise's Hall of Fame in 2015.

McGinest -- who found a second career following his retirement as an NFL analyst for various television networks -- finished his career following the 2008 season with 804 total tackles and 86 sacks.

"I was trying to be a hero, I guess."

That's Jakobi Meyers explaining his actions on the final play of the Patriots game Sunday -- that turned into one of the most shocking endings in NFL history.

ICYMI, the Patriots and the Las Vegas Raiders were tied, three seconds away from overtime ... when New England decided to run a draw play instead of taking a knee.

Pats' RB Rhamondre Stevenson lateralled the ball to Meyers, who shockingly attempted to throw a long lateral back to Mac Jones ... but was intercepted by Raiders' Chandler Jones, who proceeded to run over Mac, on the way to a 48-yard game-winning touchdown.

After the game, Meyers -- who signed with Pats in 2019 -- did his best to explain his head-scratching move.

"Just trying to do too much," the 26-year-old said about his part in the final play, "Trying to be a hero, I guess."

"I ain't see dude back there, tried throwing the ball. Like I said, I just was doing too much. I should've went down with the ball.”

Meyers flatly said the lateral wasn't part of the plan (plan was to run the ball and get to OT) ... but he (believed he) saw Mac open.

"I didn't see Chandler Jones at the time," Meyers said.

"Thought [Mac Jones] was open, tried to give it to him and let him try and make a play with it. But the score was tied, so like I've said, I should’ve went down."

The WR says he'll learn from this costly mistake and do better from here on out.

FWIW, respect to Meyers for standing there and answering questions after the worst football moment of his career.

The Patriots are still in the playoff hunt -- thanks to some other bubble teams losing -- but the loss didn't help, and neither will the Cincinnati Bengals coming into town Saturday.

New England Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker is going OFF on the NFL ... saying officials need to "get on y'alls f***in' jobs" and take care of players who may have suffered head injuries during games.

Parker appeared dazed after getting hit with four minutes left in the first quarter of the Pats' "Monday Night Football" game against the Arizona Cardinals ... and teammate Nelson Agholor had to beg the referees to pause the contest so the veteran wideout could get checked out.

The NFL Players' Association is currently investigating why the league's concussion spotter didn't immediately stop the game ... especially considering the new protocols put in place following the handling of Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa's head injuries earlier this season.

Parker was visibly wobbly after he made the 10-yard catch -- he actually bumped into teammate Cole Strange as he tried to walk.

Parker thanked Agholor for looking out for him ... and it was for good reason -- #1 didn't return to the game after being examined by the medical staff.

The Pats are now dealing with a short receiving core ... as Jakobi Meyers also missed Monday's game due to a concussion.

Rob Gronkowski is retired from the NFL but he's not done giving back to his fans ... the future Hall of Famer recently surprised a retired U.S. Army veteran, wounded in combat, with an awesome, customized truck!

The G.O.A.T. tight end partnered up with USAA to deliver a 4-door truck to specialist Jonny Flores who served four years in a field artillery unit ... where he worked as a .50 cal gunner, among other jobs.

"Today I'm helping USAA give away a recycled ride to a deserving US military veteran," Gronk said on Tuesday.

"This is gonna be awesome. About to surprise Jonny."

The video of Gronk surprising the Purple Heart recipient in Tampa is amazing ... and from Flores' reaction, he had no idea he was meeting the Super Bowl champ.

"No way!" Flores said, clearly in shock ... "What a surprise!"

Then, when Gronk showed Flores the truck ... he was so stoked!!

It's a feel-good story for a man who has sacrificed mightily for his country. Flores was badly wounded after a vehicle he was in drove over a pressure-plate IED (improvised explosive device) on July 4, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq. He ultimately had his left leg amputated. He also sustained other injuries in the attack.

Flores, who uses a wheelchair, will now be able to move around much more freely ... because we're told the ride was retrofitted and modified for his mobility needs, including installing a wheelchair lift.

"This means a lot to me," Flores said, "Being able to get my independence and get in and out of this with ease, you know, with no help. That wheelchair thing is something else!"

"This is a game changer. Oh my God. I can already see how many trips and things we're gonna do with the family. I'm so excited. I can't thank you guys enough for this man."

It's all part of the USAA's celebration of their 100th anniversary serving the military ... and the vehicle was the 87th car they gifted in 2022, Gronk's jersey number.

Gronk played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Patriots and Buccaneers. The 5-time Pro Bowler won 4 Super Bowls before retiring in June.

Jay-Z got a taste of what NFL ownership would be like on Thursday night -- sitting alongside Robert Kraft in the New England honcho's suite for the Patriots' 'TNF' game ... while rubbin' elbows with star players after the contest as well.

HOV hit Gillette Stadium for the Bills' dominant 24-10 win over the Pats from start to finish -- with cameras capturing him chillin' with Kraft for the entirety of the night.

Unclear what Bob and Jay talked about -- but seems safe to say the potential of the rapper eventually owning the Commanders came up.

As we reported, Jay-Z has been very interested in putting in a bid for Daniel Snyder's Washington team ... taking a secret dinner with billionaire Jeff Bezos in L.A. last month to talk about the logistics of it all.

It's unknown yet if Snyder has any interest in selling to the two titans ... but at least two star Buffalo players made it clear they'd welcome Jay to NFL fields with open arms.

Josh Allen and Gabe Davis were both spotted showing big love to Jay-Z in a stadium tunnel following their win. And, afterward, Allen joked with media members about being kind of starstruck over it all, saying, "I'm not sure he knew exactly who I was.''

NFL football on Thanksgiving Day is one of the best traditions there is -- but before we dive into the games (and food), let's meet the lovely wives and girlfriends of the athletes hitting the field on Thursday.

The Bills and Lions are set to kick things off in Detroit -- Josh Allen's GF, Brittany Williams and Stefon Diggs' GF, Tae Heckard, will certainly be rooting for their men to link up for some big plays.

Jordan Poyer's wife, Rachel Bush, will be hoping her man has a feast defensively against Jared Goff ... as he's cheered on by his fiancée, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Christen Harper.

Dak Prescott has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season -- his GF, Natalie Buffett, will watch as her man's 7-3 Cowboys play the Giants at Jerry World on Thursday.

Saquon Barkley and the Giants will be hoping to spoil the Cowboys' Thanksgiving, which would assuredly put a smile on the face of Anna Congdon, his longtime girlfriend and mother of his kid.

Meanwhile, Mac Jones and his girlfriend, Sophie Scott, will have to wait to stuff their faces with Thanksgiving delights ... as the Pats QB plays the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in the late game.

Brandon Marshall will now have the New England Patriots logo etched into his arm FOR LIFE ... and it's all 'cause of a silly bet he made with Julian Edelman last week.

The two former wideouts placed the wager on the set of "Inside the NFL" back on Friday -- two days before their ex-teams went head-to-head at Gillette Stadium.

The deal was simple -- if the Jets win, Edelman gets NY ink. If they lose, Marshall gets branded.

As you know, the Patriots pulled out the win Sunday with an improbable, last-second 84-yard punt return ... and when it came time for Edelman to collect this week, Marshall paid up.

The 38-year-old, who made the Pro Bowl with the Jets in 2015, sat in a chair on the "Inside the NFL" set and took the needle to his right forearm.

Edelman gloated about it all afterward on his social media page ... writing, "A bets a bet. And @bmarshall is a man of his word. Thanks for saving me @patriots."

In even better news for Julian -- the Patriots don't play the Jets again this season, so it appears he's safe from any sort of retribution from Marshall.

Then again, the former wideout did play for the Dolphins as well -- and they are slated to play against New England on Jan. 1.

The ultra-rare Tom Brady-signed flag that was allegedly ruined by the Patriots Hall of Fame has been re-signed by the G.O.A.T. ... and the owner of the piece now says he feels like he's been made whole.

Daniel Vitale was initially livid over the situation earlier this year ... claiming after he temporarily donated the 1-of-1 American flag to the Pats' HOF, officials there ruined the Brady signature on it by displaying it improperly.

Vitale shared pics of the piece, showing the dark blue Brady John Hancock that the QB had put on it in the early 2000s had lost its "T" after being in the New England museum's possession.

The father of three filed a lawsuit over it all, alleging that the flag was worth potentially $1 MILLION less ... and he was asking for the Pats HOF to pay him for damages.

Vitale's lawsuit is still ongoing ... though he tells TMZ Sports he feels at least part of the situation has been remedied, after the Patriots helped get Tom to re-sign the flag last week following the Buccaneers star's return from Germany.

Vitale says the new signature is incredible -- it's "four times" the original size, he told us -- and he now believes the piece is worth significantly more than the $1 million it was initially appraised at.

Vitale will begin the process of trying to sell it now -- he's taking offers immediately -- and he tells us he's trying to do a lot of good with some of the eventual proceeds.

The longtime Pats fan has a daughter who has autism, and he's planning to donate some of the flag's sales to raise awareness for the disability. Specifically, Vitale is hoping to funnel funds to Spectrum Connection, a division of Community Partners in New Hampshire.

All he wanted for his birthday was a big booty ... cake -- and that's exactly what Chanel Iman got her NFL boyfriend, Davon Godchaux, to celebrate his bday!

The New England Patriots' defensive tackle celebrated his 27th trip around the sun with his supermodel girlfriend over the weekend on a luxurious yacht.

You can see Iman and Godchaux -- who signed a contract extension with the Pats in July -- smiling, doing a bit of karaoke ... basically all lovey-dovey.

But, the best part is the bday cake Iman got him -- of a woman's booty in red and black lingerie.

"Celebrating you Big Daddy," the 31-year-old Atlanta model said in her IG post of the booty-full treat.

"Happy Birthday! I love you."

It seems Davon loved his birthday cake 'cause the 27-year-old licked the voluptuous buns right in front of the camera.

"The best birthday ever!" Godchaux said in the comments under Iman's post, "My love, my everything! Love you forever and always ❤️😝😝"

It's crystal clear Iman and Godchaux are going strong after going IG official this April ... just months after New York Giants' WR Sterling Shepard filed for divorce.

And, it seems Shepard -- who has two kids with Iman -- may have moved on as well ... the wide receiver shared a photo of him and Shaniece Hairston at Odell Beckham's 30th birthday bash!

He knows it might be wrong, but Bailey Zappe's in love with "Stacy's Mom" ... 'cause the Patriots quarterback couldn't resist rocking to the Fountains of Wayne song in the middle of Monday Night Football!!

The hilarious moment was captured by the TV broadcast right after the backup came in and led the Pats on two touchdown drives ... showing Zappe mouth the words to the 2003 one-hit wonder while chilling on the sidelines.

Zappe was clearly feeling himself at the time -- he came in for a struggling Mac Jones (who Bill Belichick says was NOT benched) -- and had a hot start before eventually fizzling out in the 33-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The rookie finished the game 14 of 22 for 186 yards ... with one passing touchdown and two interceptions.

As for the decision to switch to Zappe, Belichick says it was always the plan to get the former Western Kentucky star some reps as Jones works back from a high ankle sprain.

Don't be surprised if the Gillette Stadium sound folks run with it and play the banger every time Zappe scores moving forward.

Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft reportedly got into a heated argument at the NFL owners' meeting on Tuesday ... and things apparently got so tense between the two, Jones told Kraft, "Don't f*** with me."

Jones and Kraft met with other league owners in New York to discuss a variety of issues ... but at one point, according to ESPN, the Cowboys and Patriots honchos got into over commissioner Roger Goodell's future contract.

Per the outlet, Jones wanted changes to Goodell's deal ... but Kraft didn't. The disagreement, according to ESPN, led to an exchange where Jones dropped the F-bomb comment.

"Excuse me," Kraft reportedly replied to Jones' remark.

"Don't mess me," Jones responded, per the outlet.

Kraft then reportedly got his way ... with the owners siding with him in a 31-1 vote.

The alleged tiff wasn't the only drama at the owners' meeting on Tuesday ... as we reported, Colts boss Jim Irsay ruffled Commanders' feathers after he voiced support for the ouster of Washington owner Daniel Snyder.

Robert Kraft proves you're never too old to find love ... because he tied the knot Friday in a star-studded, surprise wedding.

The octogenarian owner of the New England Patriots is now the husband of 47-year-old Dr. Dana Blumberg.

250 folks showed up for a "Kickoff and a Touchdown" soiree in lower Manhattan ... not a whiff that this was a till-death-do-us-part bash.

Among the guests who were appropriately surprised ... Tom Brady and a bunch of other ex-Pats, Meek Mill and Jon Bon Jovi. Tom, btw, showed up alone.

A 10-minute video played -- a video Bob and Dana put together -- and then Al Michaels introduced them to the crowd.

It was a traditional Jewish ceremony ... Kraft smashed a glass during the nuptials.

Oh, and yes, there was entertainment, and it wasn't the Bar Mitzvah band. How's Elton John and Ed Sheeran!!!

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft just made a HUGE contribution to the Massachusetts General Hospital ... donating $50 MILLION to promote health equity in the area.

81-year-old Kraft -- who is worth around $10 billion, according to Forbes -- says he handed over the check after being inspired by the treatment his late wife, Myra, received while battling ovarian cancer.

Kraft told WCVB he wanted to make it his mission to ensure people of all backgrounds had similar care ... and thanks to his money, the hospital will be able to start multiple new initiatives to make it happen.

One of the hospital's focuses will be sickle cell disease research ... which also happens to be the charitable cause for Patriots player Devin McCourty.

Kraft made a profound statement to Front Office Sports about the matter ... saying, "If this was a disease for white people, I think the cure would have been found already."

"I think it falls to people like myself to try to do what we can to help."

Kraft has made several donations to MGH -- recently named the best hospital in the country -- over the years, but the organization says this newest round of support has more than doubled the amounts in the past.

A man is suing the New England Patriots Hall of Fame ... claiming it ruined his one-of-a-kind, Tom Brady signed American flag -- costing him potentially over $1 MILLION.

The guy's name is Daniel Vitale ... and he says in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, that back in early 2020, he acquired a flag that had been autographed by the G.O.A.T.

In his lawsuit, Vitale says the flag was ultra-rare. It had flown at Foxboro Stadium during a Patriots vs. Dolphins game in 2001 -- the same season that Brady first took over as the starter in New England -- and was signed by the quarterback a few years later. Vitale said he believed it to be the only American flag known to be signed by TB12 in existence.

Vitale says in the suit that in 2021, about a year after he got the piece, he reached out to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to see if it wanted to put it on display. He claims it did, but only after Brady and his former head coach, Bill Belichick, had retired.

The HOF, according to Vitale, suggested he reach out to the Patriots Hall of Fame at Gillette Stadium to gauge its interest in the flag in the meantime. Vitale claims in his suit that the Pats HOF wanted it -- and officials there promised him it would be "curated to the highest standard."

Vitale says he handed it over under that premise ... and it was almost immediately displayed underneath the Brady Super Bowl XLIX jersey that had been infamously stolen and later recovered.

Vitale, though, said months later ... he was considering asking for it back. He said due to Brady's potential retirement and the subsequent skyrocketing value of Brady memorabilia, he was thinking about putting it up for auction.

But, that's when he says he found out that the QB's autograph had faded due to what he claims is the way the HOF improperly displayed the piece.

In the suit, Vitale said "neither the lighting at [the facility] nor the glass [it] used for case displaying the flag were designed to protect autographed sports memorabilia."

He added, "there was a significant gap in the glass directly in front of the flag through which unfiltered light and heat could pass."

All of it, he said, caused the T and other parts of Brady's signature to significantly fade.

In a video of Vitale recovering the flag, you can hear he was crushed to see the state it was in.

In the suit, he said due to the Patriots HOF's mishandling of the flag, the value of it decreased by potentially as much as over $1 million.

He's asking for damages.

Bill Belichick presented Robert Kraft with the game ball after the team's 17-14 win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh ... in honor of Kraft's 500th game as the team's owner.

"We've had a lot of big wins here in Pittsburgh," Belichick told his team ... "We've had a lot of big wins here. I think it's fitting that this one comes on Mr. Kraft's 500th game."

Kraft -- who's owned the Patriots since 1994 -- was choked up ... but managed to speak a few words after his players implored him to deliver a speech.

"What you guys did here today is so sweet for my family, and I thank you all," Kraft told the team. "And, doing it here in Pittsburgh is pretty special. Thank you."

RK said he and his son, Jonathan, have the opportunity to work in different business industries, but none of them compare to the NFL -- mainly because of the players' impact.

A huge fire broke out in the parking lot at the Dolphins vs. Patriots game on Sunday -- destroying several cars -- and according to at least one witness, it all started after someone left a tailgating grill on.

A spokesperson for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue tells TMZ Sports ... firefighters were called to Hard Rock Stadium at around 1:28 PM after multiple people had seen flames pouring out of cars just outside of the venue.

Thankfully, according to the spokesperson, "firefighters immediately worked to contain and place the fire under control" and there were no reported injuries.

Video shot by multiple people at the arena showed the inferno was massive -- causing huge amounts of black smoke to pour into the stadium.

One witness says the owners of the cars had no idea their rides were destroyed until they returned to the parking lot. Another said the blaze appeared to start after someone had failed to properly extinguish their BBQ.

The MDFR spokesperson said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

One of the car's owners, Scott Dellorfano, told NBC Miami that his Mercedes S63 -- plus $3k he had in the vehicle -- were destroyed in the fire.