NFL

If Vince McMahon wants a big name in the XFL -- Chris Gronkowski says his little brother is down to lend his family crest to the league!

No, he ain't talking about Rob ... dude's kinda busy.

But Chris tells TMZ Sports his OTHER lil bro, Glenn, is totally game after getting waived by the Patriots during the regular season.

"He just got a Super Bowl ring last year, so sign him up!"

It's true ... Glenn (fullback) was a member of the New England Patriots practice squad last season.

Of course, we had to get Chris to update us on Rob's status for the upcoming Super Bowl ... and he had a similar take as Rob's BFF, Mojo Rawley.

Here's Denver Broncos MVP Von Miller scaring the hell outta John Elway ... sitting on top of a living, breathing ALLIGATOR!

Miller is in Orlando, Florida for the Pro Bowl and decided to use some of his free time to visit Gatorland --the self-proclaimed, "Alligator Capital of the World."

The 28-year-old got the VIP gator treatment -- with park officials allowing him to "wrestle" a gator ... which means he got to climb on top of the animal while its jaws were taped shut.

Gator Fun Fact -- alligators can bite down with an insane amount of force (300 pounds per square inch) ... but barely have any muscle power to OPEN their mouths. Crazy, right?!

Fletcher Cox says his relationship with a married woman ain't the result of some master seduction ... but just some good ol' fashioned mutual attraction between consenting adults.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Cox -- Eagles star DT -- was sued by Josh Jeffords, a North Carolina man who claimed Fletcher seduced and banged his wife Catherine ... destroying his marriage.

In N.C., that can constitute "alienation of affection" ... what Cox is being sued for.

But in docs filed by Cox's attorney, he's adamant he's no homewrecker ... saying the relationship "was not the result of seduction," but just "mutual attraction" with a woman who "knowingly and voluntarily consented to the relationship."

In fact, Cox says she never told him she was married ... and says it wouldn't matter anyway, 'cause "no genuine love or affection existed" between Catherine and her husband.

The 6'4," 310-pound Pro Bowler does admit to having explicit text conversations with the woman ... including telling her, "I want to get you pregnant."

Cox's attorney is asking the court to dismiss the case ... and make Josh Jeffords pay for his lawyers.

What do Future and Nick Foles have in common??

THEY GOT THE KEYS, KEYS, KEYS!! ... 'cause the mayor of Philadelphia says the Eagles' backup QB has already earned his honorary set of keys to the city!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Jim Kenney about the Eagles gettin' back into the Big Game ... and asked whether a Super Bowl win would give him royalty status in Philly.

The NFL Network is firing back at the former wardrobe stylist who claimed she was sexually harassed by on-air talent like Marshall Faulk and Donovan McNabb ... saying she approved of the inappropriate behavior.

NFL Enterprises -- which runs the football network -- filed its response to Jami Cantor's lawsuit on January 18 ... denying all of her claims and asking the court to throw it out.

As we previously reported ... Cantor made several claims of sexual harassment from 2006 until she was fired in 2016. She alleges Faulk pulled out his genitals in front of her and asked invasive questions.

Cantor also claims McNabb sent texts to her asking if "she was a squirter" and telling her she "looked like the kind of girl that squirted when getting f***ed," ... and accused Warren Sapp of urinating in front of her.

Ike Taylor, Eric Davis and Heath Evans were also named in the suit.

The response claims Jami "approved, consented to, authorized, and/or ratified" all of the misconduct ... translation -- she was cool with it.

The response also claims the network properly addressed any concerns that may have been raised by Cantor during her time with the company.

It's official ... Vince McMahon is bringing back the XFL -- and Tim Tebow already has an invite to play.

The WWE honcho made the announcement Thursday afternoon ... saying the new XFL will launch in 2020 and will focus on more exciting football with zero political distractions.

That means players will be required to stand for the National Anthem.

Vince says the league will launch with 8 teams -- 40-man rosters -- and nobody with a criminal background will be eligible to play. Vince says the quality of the individual matters as much as the quality of the play.

When asked specifically about 3 players -- Johnny Manziel, Tim Tebow, and Colin Kaepernick -- Vince danced around Johnny and Colin ... but extended a casual invitation to Tebow.

McMahon insists there will be no crossover between the WWE and the XFL -- which means completely different announcers.

Vince also says he will not be the face of the league and will hire an accomplished people to run the XFL.

As far as the length of the game, Vince says he's gunning for 2-hour games.

Vince says he's confident the league will succeed this time around, 'cause the team has a 2-year runway ... and will be listening closely to what the fans want.

He even asked fans to submit ideas to the league office.

FSU QB Deondre Francois was worried his ex-GF was going to wreck all his stuff -- including 2 flat screen TVs -- according to the 911 call obtained by TMZ Sports.

Cops responded to an incident at Francois' apartment earlier this week. Francois claims his GF became enraged and started breaking things at his apartment before she tried to hit him.

Francois' GF told a different story ... saying the FSU QB flew into a jealous rage, knocked down a door and threw her to the ground.

In the 911 call made by DF, he tells Tallahassee PD that his girl is "tearin' up everything in my house."

Francois tells the operator the girl threatened to call cops and say he physically hurt her ... "She's trying to say I was domestic violent. But my best friend is sitting right here. He just seen her trying to take everything down."

"I just want someone to come get her please."

HALLELUJAH!! Tim Tebow is headin' back to baseball!

The ex-football superstar tells TMZ Sports he's going to accept his invite to the NY Mets spring training in February ... and he's swingin' for the fences.

Tebow -- who played for Class A St. Lucie last season -- got the invite to return to the Mets' major league camp last week, but hadn't officially said whether he would take another shot at baseball until now.

BTW ... the 2007 Heisman winner had a .226 batting average with 8 dingers and 52 RBI in the minors last season.

Verne Troyer ain't messing around when it comes to his 2018 #FitnessGoals ... CRUSHING the weight room with NFL prospect Du'Vonta Lampkin!

Verne gives up 300 POUNDS to Du'Vonta ... but he did a damn good job keeping up with the former Oklahoma defensive tackle out at Sports Academy in Newbury Park -- flippin' tires and reppin' barbells like a regular frat bro.

Mini-Me got teamed up with one of the largest human beings in the draft thanks to Vayner Sports ... and we're glad they did.

Get it, Verne!!!

Forget the water bottle flip challenge ... Todd Gurley just crushed the GATORADE COOLER FLIP CHALLENGE!!!

The Rams superstar was hanging' out at the NFL Pro Bowl practice in Orlando on Wednesday when he saw the cooler on a table and decided he needed to flip that bitch!!!

New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram caught the whole thing on video (not sure Gurley even knew he was being recorded) ... and when he hit the flip, everyone went nuts!!!!

Gotta love Pro Bowl week.

Bonus: Remember when LeBron James pulled the water bottle flip off during a game? Good times.

Charles Barkley says it's impossible to pick between Michael Jordan and Tom Brady when it comes to the Greatest Of All Time ... but says there's a THIRD name that belongs in the conversation.

Sir Chuck was at LAX ... where he also heaped some praise on LeBron James for hitting 30k career points and Kobe Bryant for getting an Oscar nod.

By the way, neither of those guys are the 3rd G.O.A.T. Barkley referenced earlier.

Tom Brady's one of the best ever, but he's not THE greatest of all time -- so says Tony Gonzalez ... who offered a unique take on the G.O.A.T. debate when we got him out in L.A.

Tony tells TMZ Sports Brady's no doubt had the "best career" ... but when it comes to sheer ability, it's splitting hairs to pick between him and a handful of other legendary QBs.

"I don't know if there's ever a best anything," Gonzalez said.

As for which guys he puts right up there with Tom ... Tony named a couple active QBs as well as a few Hall of Famers -- and they're all pretty good choices.

Gonzo -- widely considered the G.O.A.T. of NFL tight ends -- also shouted out the TEs he thinks are on his level.

Joey Fatone is tearin' up the hearts of 'NSYNC fans across the country -- officially shutting down all hope of a Super Bowl 52 reunion with Justin Timberlake.

"I'm here right now," Joey told TMZ Sports outside Delilah over the weekend. "If I was doing something, I'd be at rehearsals right now ... there's your proof."

Remember ... we spoke to Fatone before JT signed on for the Big Game -- and at the time, he said an 'NSYNC halftime show could happen if a few things fell into place.

Joey insists those plans never materialized -- and JT will be rollin' solo next Sunday in Minnesota.

Fatone also told us why he thinks Janet Jackson didn't get a Super Bowl call-back ... you're gonna wanna hear his explanation.

WWE superstar Mojo Rawley tells TMZ Sports ... he's been talking with his best friend, Rob Gronkowski, and he's confident the guy will be "good to go" for the Super Bowl.

Of course, Gronk took a big shot to the head during the AFC Championship on Sunday and missed the 2nd half of the game after being evaluated for a concussion.

But, Rawley says Gronk is "one of the toughest guys I know and I'm sure he'll be fine for the big one."

"I've got confidence in my friend, my best friend."

Rawley says Gronk may come off as a meathead, but when it comes to his mental health, the guy is no dummy -- "He's taking the right steps and following the right protocols."

The WWE star also says he's REALLY hoping to get to the Super Bowl to cheer on his friend in person after Gronk came to WrestleMania last year to support him.

There's more ... Mojo was also in attendance at UFC 220 where his friend Stipe Miocic beat up Francis Ngannou.

So, we had to ask ... does Stipe have a future in the squared circle?! You'll wanna see the answer!

Nick Foles is killing it right now ... but when Carson Wentz gets healthy, the starting QB job in Philly is HIS ... so says Eagles legend Brian Westbrook.

Westbrook -- who's in the Eagles Hall of Fame -- tells TMZ Sports he's incredibly proud of the job Foles has done filling in for Wentz, but even if he wins the Super Bowl ... he won't get the starting nod next season.

"When Carson Wentz is healthy, Carson Wentz will be the starting QB of the Eagles."

There will be no Jerseygate 2 at Super Bowl LII -- with law enforcement putting together special plans to watch Tom Brady's jersey LIKE A HAWK in the wake of last year's theft, TMZ Sports has learned.

First off, the guy who jacked Tom's jersey out of the locker room in 2017, Mauricio Ortega, has been banned from all Super Bowls (and all NFL games) for life ... an NFL spokesperson tell us.

Law enforcement directly involved with the SBLII protection in Minneapolis says the protection of player property -- especially game-used memorabilia -- will be a major priority this time around.

As one source put it ... "One of the main goals is to keep people and property safe. We do not want a repeat of last year and we have learned lessons from other major sporting events."

We're told the overall security plan involves federal agencies, multiple state agencies and private security plus "surveillance everywhere."

Still, Tom might wanna have a designated "jersey guy" just in case ...