Tom Brady Refuses To Leave Game, Helps Gronk Get $1 Million In Bonuses

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady refused to come out of Sunday's game against the Panthers ... until his tight end and good friend, Rob Gronkowski, got the stats he needed to trigger two separate $500,000 bonuses in his contract.

Gronk entered Week 18 -- Tampa's regular season finale -- with 48 catches and 665 receiving yards. He needed 7 catches and 85 yards to trigger both bonuses.

Well, TB12 was gonna make sure he got 'em, 'cause with under 7 mins left to go in the game, the Bucs were up 31-17 in the fourth quarter ... and head coach Bruce Arians was preparing to pull his starters.

But, check out the video ... you see a defiant Brady appear to tell Tampa's coaching staff "he's not coming out of the game" as he grabs his helmet and heads back onto the field.

The reason?? Likely 'cause Gronk -- who already hit his yardage bonus earlier in the second half on a 42-yard reception -- was still one catch shy of hitting his receptions bonus.

So, the G.O.A.T completed a short pass to Rob in the flat ... giving him the numbers he needed to cash in.

Gronkowski ultimately finished the day with 7 catches for 137 yards.

Of course, Tom is no stranger to looking out for his teammates ... despite some of the comments Antonio Brown recently made about him.

Oh, and TB also set a new career-high in passing yards (5,316) -- eclipsing his previous career-high mark set back in 2011 ... as the Bucs defeated Carolina 41-17.