New England Patriots

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.

"Who the hell wants to go to the Colts organization and play for [Jim] Irsay. I mean, that place is an absolute s**t show" -- says ex-Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins.

Wiggins would know ... he played for the Colts back in 2002 and tells TMZ Sports he's convinced Josh McDaniels made the RIGHT choice in backing out of the Indy coaching job.

"[If McDaniels] goes to Indy, if they suck in two years, they'll be looking for a new head coach and he'll be out," Wiggins says.

Tony Dungy is ripping into Josh McDaniels -- saying there's "no excuse big enough to justify" screwing over all of the asst. coaches who are getting burned in his coaching flip-flop.

"It’s one thing to go back on your word to an organization," Dungy said ... "But having assistant coaches leave jobs to go with you then leave them out to dry is indefensible. For COMFORT??"

This all stems from Josh's last minute decision to back out of a deal to coach the Indianapolis Colts and go back with the Patriots ... AFTER he lured a team of assistants to leave other jobs and sign contracts with Indy.

Now Indy will have to hire a new head coach -- and that person will likely blow out McDaniels' entire team and bring in his own guys. Dungy clearly believes the assistants are getting screwed big time.

"Has nothing to do with the Colts. It’s about the families of those assistant coaches that he totally disregarded. But who cares about them???!"

TMZ Sports obtained the 911 call Rob Gronkowski PERSONALLY made to police when he realized his Boston area house was burglarized while he was at the Super Bowl.

During the call, placed Monday evening when Gronk came back from Minnesota, the Patriots tight end said:

"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."

According to the police report, the crook or crooks broke into the house through a window and raided several rooms.

Fortunately, Rob's bedroom door was locked and the burglar(s) didn't get inside. However, Rob has two roommates -- and both of their rooms were raided.

According to the police report, the burglary occurred on Sunday evening at 8:50 PM ET -- right when Gronk was playing in the Super Bowl.

Cops have not said what items were stolen -- but have assured the public they are on the hunt for the perps.

Good news for the Philadelphia Eagles ... they're getting FAT ASS league-issued playoff bonus checks for winning the Super Bowl.

Bad news ... it's WAYYY less than what the Houston Astros got for winning the World Series.

Here's the math ... each Eagles player gets $28k for the Divisional round game, $51k for the NFC Championship and $112k for winning the Super Bowl.

Grand bonus total -- $191,000.

Not a bad haul (in addition to whatever playoff bonuses individual players have in their contracts with the team).

So, how does it stack up to playoff bonuses in other sports?

The Houston Astros got $438k per player in league-issued bonus money after their 2017 playoff run.

Obviously, MLB teams have less players on the roster to play -- but let's take a look at the ratings.

The Super Bowl reportedly drew in 103.4 million viewers.

The World Series averaged 18.9 million viewers per game -- but it went SEVEN GAMES!

And don't forget, before the WS the Astros played a 7-game ALCS with the Yankees. Game 7 reportedly drew 9.9 million viewers.

As for the NFL, the players agreed to the bonus structure in the collective bargaining agreement -- and the bonus goes up every year.

So is anyone gonna complain? Probably not. Enjoy the paycheck that most people don't make in a year!

Rob Gronkowski's New England mansion sits behind a gate -- surrounded by spiked fencing -- with a security system ... but it wasn't enough to deter burglars.

The media has already arrived to Gronk's home to cover the story ... that the Patriots' home was targeted by criminals who raided the place while Rob was in Minnesota for the Super Bowl.

The Foxborough Police Dept. says it's investigating the incident and hopes to bring the crooks to justice.