Tom Brady goes against head coach Bruce Arians to secure bonus money for teammate Rob Gronkowski by giving him one final pass.
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In a mostly uncompetitive Week 18 game against the Carolina Panthers, Tom Brady took care of his teammate Rob Gronkowski. That is after thrashing the Panthers. Brady made sure Gronk got paid on Sunday. Going into the Bucs-Panthers game, Gronkowski had to pick up 7 catches for $500k in incentive money and 85 yards for another $500k.
It took the veteran Tight End 3 quarters to pick up 85 yards. Then late in the fourth quarter as Gronkowski needed one more catch to get out of Week 18 $500k richer, Brady was caught refusing to let head coach Bruce Arians bench him when the game was virtually over.
“You not taking me out” Brady hit the override button on head coach Bruce Arians
Brady went to the bench for Blaine Gabbert as soon as Gronk got his incentives. It really was about the bonus. Gronk finished the game with 7 receptions for 137 yards and an extra $1 million in his pocket. The Bucs won, 41-17 and Gronk, who got his lung punctured earlier in the season, will end his regular season on a high.
Between this and the Antonio Brown situation there’s no argument that Brady has his teammates’ backs. His half-million-dollar pass to Gronkowski, putting his body on the line further cements why his teammates would run through a wall for the guy.
Following the game, Gronkowski revealed how he’ll be spending some of that $1 million contract bonus money.
“It’s cool to hit those. Gonna have to bring out all the tight ends out to dinner, a couple of the quarterbacks. I don’t bring Tom (Brady). I’ll bring the backup quarterbacks out to dinner and all that good stuff. Take my coach out to dinner. Everybody’s expecting a little handout.
The Bucs finish a successful regular season with No. 2 seed in the NFC. They will square off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Tampa next week.
