NFL

Great news for Giants fans -- Odell Beckham Jr. was back to his springy self at the NY Giants' "Dirty Dancing" commercial shoot ... just a few months after his horrific ankle injury.

How do we know? TMZ Sports spoke with Giants lineman D.J. Fluker -- one of the background dancers in Odell and Eli Manning's hilarious Super Bowl 52 ad -- and he confirmed OBJ's running and jumping wasn't just camera tricks.

D.J. also told us he's 100% confident Odell's "coming back with a vengeance" in 2018 after seeing him boogie down like his old, bad self.

Meek Mill was blown away when he watched from prison as his beloved Eagles all danced to his song, "Dreams and Nightmares," during the Super Bowl.

Meek believes the song choice was a statement by the team that he was unjustly thrown in prison for a probation violation. He says, "I was encouraged injustice still matters to people," this according to his lawyer, Joe Tacopina.

The rapper says some members of the team have reached out to him and are fighting for his release. His song became an anthem for the team throughout the playoffs as the team celebrated their victories in the locker room.

And, we're told, he got a huge kick when he saw Karl-Anthony Towns wearing a "Free Meek Mill" jersey on TV during the pregame warm-up.

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.

Malcolm Butler says he did NOT miss curfew during the week of the Super Bowl -- and says all reports that he was punished for off-the-field activities are "false."

The New England Patriots star only saw the field on one play during Sunday's game despite being one of the best players on defense.

There were reports he missed curfew because he was out at a Rick Ross concert. Others said he had been caught with weed.

But Butler says it's all B.S. -- explaining, "During Super Bowl week I never attended any concert, missed curfew, or participated any of the ridiculous activities being reported. They are not only false, but hurtful, to me and my family."

"Although I wish I could have contributed more to help my team win, I have to get ready for the next opportunity. Moving forward I will do what I have always done to work hard, and prepare for next season to be the best I can be on and off the field."

Butler says during Super Bowl week, he visited his family every night.

"Finally, I want to apologize to any offended by my language reported immediately after the game during a very emotional time," Butler said.

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.

Helluva week for Carson Wentz -- first, the Super Bowl ... now, he's engaged!

The Eagles QB got down on his knee (don't worry, it's his good knee) and popped the question to girlfriend Maddie Oberg on a candlelit rooftop somewhere.

And guess what ... SHE SAID YES!

Carson posted the celebratory pics on social media and said, "And now Maddie and I both got us a ring 💍😎 can’t wait to marry my best friend!"

"God is doing some amazing things and I can’t thank him enough!"

FYI, these 2 got together sometime in 2017 ... Maddie popped up on Carson's IG after his ACL surgery.

Congrats!!

Lions WR Marvin Jones just submitted an early entry for NFL tattoo of the year -- a DOPE neck/back tribal piece with an even doper story.

Turns out, Jones' great grandma was full Cherokee Native American ... so with the help of his Tongan teammate, Haloti Ngata, Marvin says he got hooked with one of the true OGs in the tribal game to pay tribute to his roots.

But there's a twist -- Marvin tells TMZ Sports he made sure to tie in something that reps his football background (can you figure it out?).

The craziest part -- the tattooer FREEHANDED IT ... and still finished the tat in just 2 sessions!!

Insane.

Mike Epps is fully supporting Chris Long and Malcolm Jenkins for declining a visit to Trump's White House -- and tells TMZ Sports the REST of the Eagles team should follow suit.

Of course, Chris and Malcolm have laid out their reasons -- essentially saying Trump is on the wrong side of history and they don't want to be connected to him in any way.

NO ONE thought Nick Foles had a serious shot at taking Philly to the Super Bowl -- except for one man ... Ron Jaworski!!!

Seriously ... when Carson Wentz went down, Jaws told TMZ Sports not to worry, Foles was completely capable of keeping Philly's season alive.

In fact, he told us straight-up Foles would play in the Super Bowl.

Well, after Foles WON the Super Bowl on Sunday, it was Jawstradamus' time to revel in his prescientness!!!! And he did. Well deserved.

The best part of the clip ... watching Jaws try to have a conversation in -5 degrees.

Donald Trump says it's "disgraceful" that a former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson was killed by a man who was in the United States illegally ... and is calling for democrats to get tough on the border.

As we previously reported, 26-year-old Jackson was hit by a pickup truck early Sunday morning while he was standing on the shoulder of a highway in Indiana.

Officials believe the man driving the truck is 37-year-old Manuel Orrego-Savala -- a Guatemalan citizen who had been living in the U.S. illegally. Officials believe Orrego-Savala was drunk at the time of the crash and tried to flee the scene.

Once apprehended, officials say Orrego-Savala had been previously deported twice before -- once in 2007 and again in 2009 -- yet somehow made it back and had been living in Indiana.

Now, Trump is weighing in ... saying, "So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson."

"This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!"

"My prayers and best wishes are with the family of Edwin Jackson, a wonderful young man whose life was so senselessly taken. @Colts."

He's a Pennsylvania boy through and through ... but Carson Kressley says if push comes to shove, he'd rather bang Tom Brady over Nick Foles.

Yeah, turns out Brady is still very attractive ...

The good news for Foles -- Kressley says he's still "just a little baby QB" and has room to blossom -- where Brady "is like a wolf."

Gay Fun Fact: A "wolf" is generally a semi-hairy, muscular man with a lean build. Typically, wolves are older men ... according to GayPopBuzz.com.

Rob Gronkowski's Boston-area home was hit by burglars -- and it seems it was targeted while Gronk was playing in the Super Bowl.

The Foxborough PD confirmed cops are conducting a "routine property investigation" after the New England Patriots star returned home from his Minnesota trip to find his house had been hit.

Cops tell TMZ Sports they received the call from Gronk himself around 6:18 PM on Monday evening.

There are reports the burglars stole some safes from the home and GUNS may have been taken. But cops will not confirm that.

We're told no one was home during the burglary and cops are taking inventory as to what was stolen.

"Out of respect for the homeowner's privacy and because this remains a very active and dynamic criminal investigation, the police are not releasing any information about items stolen or possible suspects as this case moves forward," the FPD wrote in a statement.

"We will have no further comment on the case until the case is solved."

Here's Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond going all "Hit 'Em Up" on Donald Trump -- slamming POTUS as a bitter old man who's "irrelevant" when it comes to the NFL.

The diss session started when we asked the Chairman of the Black Caucus if Trump should consider it a victory that no players took a knee during the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

That set Richmond OFF.

Richmond says Trump's "not wanted" when it comes to the NFL -- and claims DT's bitterness toward the players is born out of the fact he was never able to buy an NFL team of his own.

Burn.

Derrick Ward's wife wants out ... filing court docs to separate from the ex-NFL running back after allegations he's been brutalizing her over the past year.

As we previously reported, Ward's wife Naomi got a restraining order against the former NY Giants running back last month claiming he's been physically abusive in front of their children -- shoving her, punching walls and breaking things.

Now, we've learned Naomi filed for divorce on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles seeking to separate. The assumption is that she'll eventually move to end the marriage once and for all.

We've reached out to Ward for comment -- so far, no word back.

Here he is ... the tight end who threw a PERFECT touchdown strike to Nick Foles in the Super Bowl -- and now he's telling TMZ Sports what was going through his mind when he got the call.

Trey Burton said the Eagles had practiced the play called, "Philly Special" -- but he didn't expect the team to run it at such a crucial time in the game.

But when it happened, Burton -- a former college QB -- said he was READY and executed like a legend.

The best part ... Burton says he was 100% confident Foles would catch the pass because he's a freak athlete who's made some incredible grabs in practice during the season.