Watch: Tom Brady defied Bruce Arians' orders to ensure Rob Gronkowski got his $1 million payday
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski have been teammates for 11 years: nine for the New England Patriots and two for Tampa Bay. It should come as no surprise that the quarterback was going to look out for Gronk.
Entering the Buccaneers' Week 18 game against the Carolina Panthers, Gronk needed seven receptions and 52 receiving yards to get an additional $1 million dollars this season.
Tom Brady refused to leave game until he helped Rob Gronkowski earn a $500,000 bonus buff.ly/3f8Tggs https://t.co/5S0e9RGg23
He had to get 55 receptions and 750 yards receiving to get the money as each incentive was worth $500,000.
In the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers were up on the Panthers by a score of 31-17 with over six minutes left in the game. Head coach Bruce Arians wanted to pull his quarterback out of the game. However, the 44-year-old refused to comply in order to help Gronkowski reach the final incentive in his contract.
Tom Brady didn't want to get out of the game until he got Rob Gronkowski one more reception for a $500K incentive.
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So for Gronk, the quarterback came in and threw a seven-yard pass to the four-time All-Pro tight end. It was his 55th reception of the season, triggering the $500,000 bonus. The signal caller was out of the game two plays later.
Gronk already eclipsed the necessary 750 yards receiving bonus for the other $500,000. After the 41-17 win over Carolina, the five-time Pro Bowl tight end spoke to the media, saying how rewarding it was to reach his incentives.
AB made such a big stink about targets and contracts, meanwhile Tom Brady just got Rob Gronkowski $1M in incentives today and made sure Mike Evans got to 1K yards to continue his streak.
He jokingly stated that he would take the backup quarterbacks and tight ends out to dinner, but not "Tom," the three-time NFL MVP quarterback.
"It was really nice to get it. Hitting incentives is cool," said Gronkowski. "The Buccaneers are a great organization, putting me in a position where I can hit those incentives, which is awesome. I love playing here. I love playing for this organization. It's cool to hit those.
"I'm going to have to bring out all the tight ends to dinner. A couple of the quarterbacks — I don't bring Tom out; I'll bring the backups out to dinner."
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski as teammates
As stated earlier, TB12 and Gronk have been teammates for 11 years and have won four Super Bowls together: three with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers.
Of the quarterback's 625 regular-season touchdown passes, Gronkowski has caught 90, which is the most for any player in Brady's career. Second on that list is Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss with 39.
The tandem has the most passing touchdowns by a quarterback-pass catcher duo in NFL history in the playoffs at 14. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Jerry Rice are second with 12.