Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A study of Vincent Jackson's brain showed the former NFL star was suffering from stage 2 CTE ... Jackson's family and medical experts revealed Thursday.

Dr. Ann McKee, the expert at Boston University who conducted the study on Jackson's brain, said the ex-Tampa Bay receiver had "multiple areas of the brain that were affected on both sides of the brain."

McKee noted to "Good Morning America" that oftentimes that level of the disease can lead to "violent behaviors" as well as depression and mood swings.

Jackson's widow, Lindsey Jackson, said in an interview with 'GMA' that she believes it all helps explain how the 38-year-old was found dead in a Florida hotel room back on Feb. 15, 2021.

"In his mind," Lindsey said, "it would have explained why he couldn't fix anything."

Lindsey noted that prior to his death, Vincent was dealing with memory issues and was lashing out often -- and needed alcohol to "feel calm."

She said Vincent told her his brain was "fuzzy" ... but said the booze made it feel "not fuzzy."

Lindsey said in a statement Thursday she's choosing to go public with the diagnosis in order to help others who may be dealing with similar issues.

What's interesting ... Lindsey noted Vincent had never been formally diagnosed with a concussion in his 12-year NFL career.

The chef who told the NFL that Antonio Brown faked his COVID vaccine card is now planning to sue the Buccaneers star ... saying the wide receiver still owes him $10,000.

Steven Ruiz spelled it all out to TMZ Sports this week ... saying after the NFL ruled he wasn't lying about Brown's bogus vaccine card --- he's planning to move forward with a lawsuit against AB.

"The game plan now is to file a lawsuit and take it from there," Ruiz said. "People provide a service and you've got to pay for it. That's it."

As we previously reported, Ruiz said he cooked for Brown regularly this past year ... but when it came time to pay a bill for it all, AB balked.

Ruiz said Brown owed him $10K, but he couldn't get the cash from the football player -- even after talking with Brown's attorney.

So, Ruiz ended up going public with his claims that Brown had sought and obtained a fake vaccine card and then later submitted it to the NFL.

The league investigated the claims ... and said it found Brown did misrepresent his vaccine status, and then suspended him three games without pay, costing him over $100K in lost salary.

Ruiz tells us if Brown had just paid up, he probably would've stayed quiet.

"If he had just probably paid me, you know what? He probably would still be getting paid in the NFL right now," Ruiz said. "He'd probably be playing the games that he could be playing and none of this would have even happened."

The NFL says Antonio Brown did, in fact, submit a bogus vaccine card to the league ... and officials just announced he's now been suspended three games over it all.

Brown's chef, Steven Ruiz, claimed last month that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers star had sought and then obtained the fraudulent paper back in July -- but Brown was adamant Ruiz was lying.

In a statement, Brown's attorney, Sean Burstyn, said the 33-year-old was vaccinated and did have proper paperwork ... adding, "Be like Antonio brown and get the vaccine."

But, the NFL said in a statement of its own on Thursday that after investigating the claims ... it found Brown did "misrepresent" his vaccine status, explaining their review "supported" the allegations made against AB.

The league said Brown has now been banned from playing for the next three games -- adding that Brown has "accepted the discipline" and will not appeal.

The NFL also revealed two other players -- Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards and former Tampa Bay receiver and current free agent John Franklin III -- also misrepresented their vaccine statuses and were also suspended three games.

Brown has been out of the Bucs' lineup since October while battling an ankle injury, but prior to that, he had been shining with Tom Brady -- scoring four receiving TDs in five games.

Vita Vea -- Tom Brady's teammate and arguably the Bucs' best defensive player -- needed both an ice bath AND a trip to the dentist after Tampa's game Sunday ... 'cause he lost a tooth in the middle of a play!!!

The gnarly scene all went down in the second quarter of the Buccaneers' contest with the Indianapolis Colts -- when Vea's helmet got dislodged while rushing the quarterback.

You can see in footage of the play, as Vea was putting pressure on the passer -- a Colts O-lineman stuck his helmet right into the big nose guard's mouth ... causing a tooth to pop out!

Cameras caught the little piece of Vea flying out of the 6-foot-4, 346-pounder's face -- and, yeah, it was gnarly.

Vea, though, took the shot like a champ -- and, in fact, when he got to the sideline, he was all smiles ... drinking water and laughing with teammates!!

After the game -- one in which Vea and the Bucs held on to beat Indy, 37-31 -- his head coach had no sympathy for his player ... with Bruce Arians telling reporters, "I don't care. He's got 30 other ones."

Antonio Brown is calling BS on his former chef ... saying he did NOT submit a fake COVID vaccine card to the NFL.

The chef, Steven Ruiz, told the Tampa Bay Times Brown sought and then obtained the fraudulent paper back in July ... but a rep for Brown says it's just flat-out not true.

In a statement to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Brown's attorney, Sean Burstyn, said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver is, in fact, vaccinated -- and does, in fact, have valid paperwork.

"Be like Antonio brown and get the vaccine," Rapoport says Burstyn told him.

Ruiz had told the Times that he had a text message exchange from Brown's girlfriend, Cydney Moreau, that helped prove the case against Brown.

In the messages, which Ruiz says were sent on July 2 -- less than a month before the Bucs opened training camp this summer -- Ruiz says Moreau told him Brown was searching for bogus cards.

"Can you get the covid cards," Ruiz claims Moreau said.

"I can try," Ruiz responded.

"JNJ shot," Ruiz said Moreau added. "Ab said he will give you $500."

Ruiz claims Brown was looking for a Johnson & Johnson version because it's just one shot -- and therefore would be less paperwork and much easier to sneak past NFL officials.

Ruiz says he was unable to get AB the card ... but he claims Brown was able to land fake ones for himself and Moreau a few weeks later nonetheless.

Ruiz says Brown actually showed him the fake papers ... and said Brown's trainer, Alex Guerrero, was the one who ultimately submitted AB's paperwork to the team (though Ruiz says he believes Guerrero did not know it was a fake).

It should be noted Ruiz has issues with Brown, with the chef claiming the two had a falling out over $10,000 that Ruiz says Brown never paid him.

Reps for the Bucs have yet to comment on the situation.

Brown, meanwhile, did miss Tampa's Week 3 game earlier this season due to COVID ... but recovered and played in the following three games before an ankle injury on Oct. 14 put him on the shelf.

Jason Garrett just unloaded the highest compliment possible on Tom Brady ... saying the Bucs quarterback is the best football player "that's ever walked."

The Giants offensive coordinator laid down the praise for the Tampa Bay superstar at his weekly press conference Thursday ... just three days before NY plays TB12 in Florida.

"They're going to make a Mt. Rushmore of football players at some point," the former Dallas Cowboys head coach said. "And, the first face they chisel will be that guy's face."

"He's the best that's ever walked."

Garrett continued, "He's a hell of a football player. What he's done over the last 20 years has been remarkable. And, to think he's 44 years old and probably playing the best ball of his career, it's really amazing."

The admiration is lofty ... but, of course, it's probably deserved.

Tom, after all, has been to 10 Super Bowls -- winning seven of them -- and could potentially win his FOURTH MVP award following this season. He's also been selected to 14 Pro Bowls.

"He's an inspiration to everybody," Garrett said. "In and out of sports."

Byron Kennedy's now had three days to stew over returning a $500,000 ball to Tom Brady ... but he tells TMZ Sports he STILL has no regrets about handing over the pigskin.

We got the Tampa Bay Bucs superfan on Wednesday ... and he made it clear, he's not feeling down in the dumps one bit about giving away TB12's 600th TD ball on Sunday -- even after half a week to think about his decision.

"I think I did the right thing," Kennedy said. "I'm happy Tom has it."

As we previously reported, Mike Evans accidentally gave away the Brady ball to Kennedy following his touchdown catch against the Chicago Bears ... and after the Bucs asked for it back, Byron obliged.

The problem ... memorabilia experts say it was worth half a mil!!

Kennedy, though, has since been rewarded for his troubles ... the team hooked him up with tickets and swag, and Brady and Rob Gronkowski have since sent him cryptocurrency as well.

And, Byron tells us the return haul has been more than enough for him, saying, "It's all working out pretty well."

The fan who gave up Tom Brady's 600th TD ball might not have the $500K pigskin, but his Coinbase account is surging in value, 'cause Rob Gronkowski and Mojo Muhtadi are hooking up the dude with over $30K in tokens!!

Gronk and Mojo (along with Steve Aoki) partnered with a new crypto company called Beyond Protocol earlier this year, Muhtadi tells TMZ Sports. BP says they specialize in tech that allows internet-connected devices to communicate safely.

Anyways, back to the Bucs fan, Byron Kennedy.

As we previously reported, TB12 joined Eli and Peyton Manning on MNF and announced he was giving the fan 1 Bitcoin -- currently worth about $60K -- for giving up the extremely valuable ball.

Cool, but still not worth half a milli (at least not yet).

Enter Mojo and Gronk ... Muhtadi tells us he spoke to the company, and they've decided to hook the fan up with 690 coins (if you know Mojo, you get this) worth about $44 each.

Do the math ... that's nearly $31K in value.

And, in addition to the BTC, Brady and the Bucs are hooking the fan up with a bunch of cool memorabilia ... including signed jerseys, a helmet, cleats, AND 2 season tickets for the rest of this season and next season.

The guy who gave back Tom Brady's 600th TD pass ball might have cost himself a small fortune ... 'cause one memorabilia expert says the pigskin was worth at least $500K!!

Here's the deal ... after catching the record-setting touchdown pass from Brady in the 1st quarter of the Bucs' win over the Bears, Mike Evans ran over to a Tampa Bay fan and gave away the ball.

Evans didn't think much of it at the time -- he does the nice gesture after most of his TDs -- but when he got back to the sideline, he realized his blunder.

Cameras at Raymond James Stadium caught Mike full of regret over handing away the valuable item (no player in NFL history has ever thrown for 600 in their careers) ... and eventually, Bucs staffers got to work on getting it back.

Somehow, during the middle of the game, the team convinced the guy to return the ball ... a move auction expert Ken Goldin says could have cost him HALF A MILLION DOLLARS -- and maybe even more than that.

"Given how historic this ball is as the first 600th TD in NFL history," Goldin said, "I'd estimate this ball to be worth a minimum of $500,000 (and possibly much more)."

The fan said during an interview mid-game that he gave back the ball simply because he was told Brady really wanted it.

"The trainer came over and asked for it," the fan said. "What am I going to do? Say no to Tom Brady?"

The fan added that he was promised some swag and maybe a handshake from Brady in return for it all.

As for Brady's side of it all, he was pleased with the guy's good gesture -- telling reporters after the game, "He’s going to get something nice in return."

"We'll get him a helmet or a couple of jerseys or some other stuff. It was really cool of him to do that."

Bad news for Tom Brady haters ... the quarterback says if he wanted to, he could play in the NFL TEN more years!!!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers star made the revelation before beating the Eagles on "Thursday Night Football" ... saying he could "literally" play until he's 55 years old.

"I really think I can play as long as I want," the 44-year-old said to Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm. "I really do."

Brady has always maintained that his goal is to be under center until he's 45 years old ... but, lately, he's talked more and more about getting into his 50s.

The reason? TB12 says his body is just holding up that well.

"My physical body won't be the problem," Brady said.

Of course, NFL legend Joe Montana said the same thing earlier this month ... claiming because Brady is so physically fit and takes hits so infrequently, he could see him playing into his 60s.

As for if Brady will actually do it, he said probably not ... explaining, "I don't think I will, obviously."

"I think it'll just be, I'm just missing too much of life with my family."

First, Jon Gruden lost his job ... now, he's lost his biggest sponsorship too.

Skechers has terminated its contract with the former Las Vegas Raiders head coach ... after learning the 58-year-old wrote racist, homophobic and misogynistic emails from 2011 to 2018.

"Skechers is aware of the recent press reporting on the emails of Jon Gruden, which caused him to resign his N.F.L. coaching position," a spokesperson for the shoe giant said in a statement Tuesday.

"Upon learning of these developments, we immediately terminated Mr. Gruden’s endorsement contract and our affiliation with him."

Gruden had been one of the faces of Skechers, appearing in ads for the company for the past several months.

"Skechers believes in equality, fostering tolerance, and understanding for all people," the spokesperson said. "It is at the core of who we are as a global lifestyle brand and why we have a zero-tolerance policy for such behavior within our business including those with who we formally work with."

"We believe taking a stand against racist or derogatory comments and for inclusion of all is imperative."

The news comes just one day after Gruden was ousted from his role as Las Vegas head man following the news that he had hurled an anti-gay slur toward Roger Goodell and used other offensive language in multiple emails.

In announcing his parting of ways with the Raiders ... Gruden apologized for the messages, and added, "I never meant to hurt anyone."

The Raiders have named Rich Bisaccia as their interim head coach in wake of Gruden's departure.

We all know Father Time is undefeated, but Joe Montana clearly doesn't believe that applies to Tom Brady … 'cause he thinks the G.O.A.T. can play football until he's 60!

Montana -- who was Brady's childhood idol -- recently spoke with USA Today, where he said he wouldn't be shocked if the seven-time Super Bowl champ played well beyond even 50 years old.

The reason?? Joe Cool says it's simple -- 44-year-old Tom rarely ever gets touched by defenses.

"He's hardly ever getting hit," Montana said. "So, he could play until maybe 60, I don't know."

"The way it is with the rules, he just doesn't take those big hits anymore," Montana added. "Yeah, he gets hit on occasion, but it's never one of those, '300 pounds compressing you into the ground.' They stopped that from being legal. They just don't do that anymore."

Brady has said recently he could probably play 'til the age of 50, but he's always maintained the goal -- for now -- is to just get to 45.

Rob Gronkowski ain't down in the dumps at all after busting up his ribs ... in fact, his "spirits are high" and he WILL be back this season better than ever -- so says his best pal Mojo Muhtadi.

The former WWE star and co-host of the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 (airs nightly) said Monday he's been in talks with Gronk constantly since the Bucs TE was injured against the Rams on Sept. 26 -- and he raved over how the Bucs star is handling everything.

"His spirits are high," Rawley said. "If anything, he's probably a little bit more bored this week not being able to turn up and go full tilt."

"But, man, I'll tell you what, I don't care if he would have punctured both lungs, broke every rib in his body -- you can only keep that man down for only so long."

Rawley -- just like Tampa Bay themselves -- isn't sure when the 32-year-old will make his return to the field ... but he did make it clear, the injury is no threat whatsoever to ending Rob's career.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to stop Robbie G!" Mojo said.

That's got to be great news for Tom Brady ... 'cause in the first game without Gronk on Sunday against the Pats -- the star QB threw for just 269 yards and no TDs on 43 pass attempts.

"I'd say this is probably the sixth, or the ninth-most severe injury I've seen from Rob," Rawley said with a smile. "So, yeah, we're good. Don't worry about it."

Tom Brady and Robert Kraft clearly have no bad blood ... 'cause the Bucs quarterback and Patriots owner just shared a moment in the bowels of Gillette Stadium, hugging it out before the team's battle on Sunday Night Football.

TB12 will play his old team -- in New England -- for the first time since bolting for Tampa Bay before the start of last season.

Many football fans wondered what the interaction between Brady and Kraft and Bill Belichick would be like... would there be hard feelings or a warm reaction?

A few hours before kickoff, Tom and Robert met up in a back hallway, spoke briefly, and embraced each other before going their separate ways.

Of course, the Bucs won the Super Bowl last season -- Brady's 7th -- while his old squad struggled without him, going 7-9 with Cam Newton at the helm.

During the week leading up to tonight's game, Belichick -- who reportedly had tension with Brady during his last years in NE -- was extremely complimentary of the G.O.A.T.

Despite the reported beef, Brady seems happy to be back, posting about returning to Foxborough on social media earlier Sunday, saying ... "Good to be back"

Kraft previously said the Pats plan to honor Brady before what's become the most anticipated game of the 2021 NFL season.

Brady -- a 6th round draft pick of NE in 2000 -- played 20 seasons with the Patriots ... winning 3 NFL MVPs and 6 Super Bowls with Belichick and Kraft.

There will be nothing but cheers for Tom Brady in his return to New England, so says Deion Branch, who tells TMZ Sports he expects NO boos from the Patriots faithful on Sunday.

Brady is making his first trip to Gillette Stadium as a Pats opponent after dominating for the home team for years ... and many are wondering, what will the reception be like when he hits the field in Buccaneers jerseys this weekend?

Branch, a Pats legend, says it'll be nothing but love -- at least initially -- explaining to us, "I think these guys are going to be received well."

"They've earned that," Branch added.

Now, as the game goes on, Branch says he can see things going a little bit differently.

"There's no way that the Boston fans will just sit back and be ok with Gronk catching a 40-yard, 50-yard pass," Branch said. "No, there will be some boos."

"But, in the beginning, I do believe deep down inside these guys will be received well."

Boos or not, Branch is expecting the Patriots to pull off the upset -- despite being a heavy underdog in the game.

As for all the hooplah and festivities surrounding the evening, Branch tells us he's envisioning plenty of tears flowing -- but believes all of the players will be ready to go by kickoff.

Tom Brady's first game at Gillette Stadium in an away uniform is BY FAR the most coveted ticket of the NFL season ... with sales skyrocketing leading up to Sunday's big matchup.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the average ticket price for the Buccaneers vs. Patriots showdown is a whopping $1,222 on StubHub ... with the cheapest seats coming in at $275.

We're told Brady's homecoming is crushing every other game of the NFL season in ticket sales ... outselling the second most popular game by 20%!!

As for who's going to the game -- the majority of fans are from Massachusetts (duh) ... with 8% of spectators coming from California and another 7% coming from Brady's new state of Florida.

The game has been hyped up since the schedule was released back in May ... and many have called it one of the biggest regular season ones in NFL history.

Brady has downplayed the whole thing ... claiming he's not expecting a "homecoming" as it's just another Sunday night game to him.

It may not go as TB12 plans -- after all, the guy is responsible for those 6 Super Bowl banners in the stadium.