New England Patriots

Jonathan Vilma ain't mincing words when it comes to the Patriots' James Harrison pickup ... saying Steelers intel is "definitely" the only reason Deebo's in New England.

"(Bill) Belichick doesn't need their playbook -- he's like 5-0 against them," Vilma told TMZ Sports at LAX. "What he needs is just the little things."

Jonathan gave us some examples of what those things might be ... and we gotta say, the Saints legend sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

Mark Wahlberg is PUMPED his New England Patriots signed James Harrison -- and he made a video straight from his boat welcoming the ex-Steelers star to the squad.

"Did you hear the news?" Wahlberg asked his wife, Rhea ... "James Harrison is a Patriot? Oh my. Defense just got a lot better."

He added, "Isn't it nice that [Tom Brady] got away without getting hit by him in the playoffs and possibly the AFC Championship?"

"Go Patriots. Go James Harrison."

Nick Young says it's painfully obvious why the Patriots are so damn successful -- the NFL's CHEATING FOR THEM.

On the same night as his accidental Iggy Azalea reunion, we also got Swaggy P to weigh in on the controversial Pats-Steelers ending from last Sunday.

Young told us Pittsburgh got screwed on the overturned TD call ... not like it surprised him.

"Yeah man, they got cheated," Young told TMZ Sports. "They always cheat for the Patriots ... they can't do no wrong."

Swaggy even speculated the NFL might have its own Tim Donaghy problem ... saying gambling probably played a role in the Pats getting the W.

Claudia Jordan's taking a serious shot at Ben Roethlisberger before his Steelers take on her Patriots this Sunday ... pointing to past sexual assault allegations against the QB.

"Steelers, your quarterback is very questionable. He should be in jail," Claudia told TMZ Sports outside Delilah in L.A.

Remember -- Big Ben was accused of sexual assault by two separate women in 2008 and 2010 ... but no criminal charges were brought against him in either case.

But, the former 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star clearly ain't buying Roethlisberger's innocence.

One more reason to either love or hate the New England Patriots ... steamin' hot pics of Danny Amendola's unfairly gorgeous girlfriend, Olivia Culpo.

You might LOVE the Pats 'cause these shots of Olivia taken during a workout at Art Basel in Miami just reinforced how much these guys are winning off the field.

You might HATE the Pats 'cause these shots of Olivia taken during a workout at Art Basel in Miami just reinforced how jealous you are of all the Patriots -- and not just Tom Brady.

Consider this case closed ... 'cause one of the biggest Boston sports superfans on the planet says Rob Gronkowski deserved to be suspended for his late hit on a Bills player on Sunday.

TMZ Sports got Matt Damon's reaction to Gronk getting benched for one game after a controversial hit on Tre'Davious White ... and while you can tell he didn't wanna admit it, Damon says it was worthy of a suspension.

There's no way Gronk should be suspended for his controversial hit on a Bills player ... so says former Super Bowl champ Jermaine Wiggins, who thinks anyone saying otherwise is just a Patriots hater.

TMZ Sports spoke with Wiggins about the Gronk backlash after he hit Tre'Davious White during Sunday's game, and he says if the NFL wants to remain consistent -- and be fair -- with its punishment, Gronkowski shouldn't be suspended a single minute.

Wiggins does admit it was a "dirty play" and "cheap shot" ... but says "cheap shots happen in the game all the time."

Tom Brady hopes he won't have to play without Rob Gronkowski next week ... despite the superstar tight end's controversial late hit on a defenseless Bills player on Sunday.

TB12 spoke with 'Kirk and Callahan' on WEEI Monday morning and addressed the hit on Tre'Davious White -- resulting in a concussion -- saying Gronk lashed out after growing frustrated with unfair calls earlier in the game.

"It's an emotional game and these are like spur of the moment things, they just happen," Brady says.

"You always love to keep your cool all the time but you're in a sport where you're trying to run and block and hit and tackle and be physical and aggressive. That's why people tune in."

"I think if it was a pillow fight, people wouldn't tune in to watch."

When he was asked whether Gronk deserves to be suspended, Brady defended his teammate ... saying, "I certainly hope not."

Tom Brady says Colin Kaepernick is a "damn good quarterback" who's proven he can play at a high level -- but the Pats superstar says he "has no idea" if Kaep's actually being blackballed.

Brady appeared on WEEI's "Kirk and Callahan" Monday morning where he was asked straight-up if NFGL owners are colluding to keep Kaepernick out of the NFL.

Brady took a long pause and then delivered his answer ...

"You know, I don't ... I have no idea if he's being blackballed."

"I think he was a ... I competed against him. I thought he was a damn good quarterback. And he's played at a high level, brought his team to Super Bowls."

"You know ... that's how I feel about him."

If you thought $1,000 for a Tom Brady autographed football was expensive ... hold on to your avocado toast -- because the price JUST WENT UP!

Earlier this year, TMZ Sports reported that Tom was hosting a private signing session back in March -- where fans could pick an item for Tom to sign ... for a hefty price.

Now, Tom's holding another autograph session later this month ... and the price per auto on some of the items has gone up $50 EACH. Here's a list ...

Want Tom to sign a FOOTBALL for you? It's $1,049 (March: $1,000)

Autographed Photo? That'll be $899 (March: $850)

Pats mini-helmet? $949 (March: $900)

Tom Brady "game day" style jersey? $1,249 (March: $1,200)

Rob Gronkowski tried spitting bars (again) -- this time in rap battle form -- and got absolutely WRECKED by "Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez.

On "Drop the Mic" ... Gronk took the stage in a tank n' chain, bragged about his Super Bowl rings and dropped some cringy sex jokes on Gina.

"You're a Virgin, I'm not -- I score all the time."

Gina responded with a series of shots at Gronk's intelligence ... leaving the Patriots superstar looking legitimately hurt.

"I spit fire -- you look like the caveman that discovered it."

"Gronk's his nickname and we know what that means -- it's the only sound he made until he was 16."

And the KO blow -- "This is not a revelation, I'm sure you've heard it all. But check your manhood, 'cause I just deflated your balls."

Update: Gronk's ego has officially been placed on the IR.

Donald Trump is no master of subtlety ... 'cause it DEFINITELY looks like he just gave New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft the finger on national television.

A reporter asked Trump Sunday what he made of his friend, Kraft, releasing a statement that was -- in no shortage of words -- clearly anti-Trump, at least in this case. Trump said he thinks Kraft's ideas are disrespectful to the country ... then wiped his brow with his middle finger.

Kraft released a statement Sunday saying he was "deeply disappointed" by the tone of Trump's comments earlier this week -- ya know, how owners should fire the "sons of bitches" who kneel in protest, and that fans should boycott the NFL if players keep doing it.

Trump also said he hadn't been tuning in to the actual games Sunday ... even though he was tweeting about NFL-National Anthem related matters all day.

Tom Brady seems to be on the fence about showing respect for his country but also being united with his teammates against Trump -- so he's doing both ... and the Prez is down.

Tom was seen locking arms with a teammate Sunday during the National Anthem before his game against the Texans ... but he also had his right hand over his heart.

The dynamic is interesting -- lots of NFL teams reacted during their Sunday games to Trump's comments about players kneeling and how owners and coaches should fire anyone doing it ... some knelt, some dodged, others linked up in solidarity. Tom chose the latter.

Here's the kicker ... Trump just commented on the arm locking, and he seems to prefer it as opposed to kneeling. The question -- did he do it just because Tom got involved?

The Patriots' fans, on the other hand, didn't take too kindly to the perceived protest of the National Anthem.

Dr. Bennet Omalu -- the man who discovered CTE -- tells TMZ Sports, "There is no question in my mind that CTE drove Aaron Hernandez to suicide and other criminal and violent behavior."

FYI, Dr. Omalu is the real-life doctor who inspired the Will Smith movie, "Concussion."

We reached out to Omalu after Hernandez's fiancee filed her lawsuit against the NFL and the New England Patriots -- claiming the league failed to share information connecting CTE and suicidal tendencies.

Omalu believes she absolutely has a case -- and hopes Aaron's story will inspire parents to pull their kids out of contact sports.

"If you read my book 'Truth Doesn’t Have a Side' you will encounter the Chapter titled 'I bet my license OJ Simpson Has CTE,' therefore, it should not be surprising that Aaron Hernandez eventually committed suicide."

"I am yet to examine the brain of professional football player who does not have CTE or other forms of brain damage. And we have always known for centuries that if you suffer forceful and/or repetitive blows to your head in whatever human activity, you will suffer brain damage."

"If a child plays football, there is a 100% risk exposure to brain damage. No child under the age of 18 in today’s America should be playing any of the high-impact, high-contact sports, and the big six are football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, rugby, boxing and wrestling."

"Let us keep our children healthy and make them play only non-contact sports."

Aaron Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, says Aaron killed himself as a result of severe CTE he suffered during his NFL career -- and she's suing the the Patriots and the league for keeping him in the dark about the brain disease.

Shayanna filed the lawsuit in Mass. on behalf of the daughter she had with Aaron.

In the suit Shayanna says, "Aaron had stage 3 CTE usually seen in players with a median age of death of 67 years."

Shayanna claims the NFL and the Patriots were aware of the link between suicidal impulses and CTE and failed to share that info with Hernandez.

She claims the NFL and the Patriots "were fully aware of the damage that could be inflicted from repetitive impact injuries and failed to disclose, treat or protect him from the dangers of such damage."

In her suit, Shayanna says she and her daughter are seeking "redress for the loss of parental consortium she has experienced based on the negligent conduct of Defendants that deprived her of the companionship and society of her father, Aaron Hernandez."

Hernandez infamously killed himself in his prison cell on April 19 -- after he was found not guilty in a double homicide. Hernandez was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd at the time of his death.

Shayanna says in her suit, "On April 19, 2017, Aaron succumbed to the symptoms of CTE and committed suicide."

Story developing ...

Pras from The Fugees says he's incredibly grateful to Tom Brady -- because the QB has helped him win roughly $250,000 in NFL bets!

Yeah, he's dead serious.

Pras is a huge New England Patriots fan -- and tells TMZ Sports he's used some of his hip hop fortune to fund some massive sports betting over the years ... including a $100k bet on Super Bowl LI.

"In the Super Bowl this year, at the end of the 3rd quarter, my friend called me and bet me $100,000 'cause he thought it was over ... and I took him on, and I won $100,000."

The only catch -- Pras says his boy still owes him $30K ... and he's callin' him out to pay up!