Whenever the New England Patriots dynasty that lasted from 2001 through the 2018 season is discussed, two names get most of the attention. Of course, those are head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. That pair are the only two Patriots who were part of the team from the first championship season to the last — a span of 18 years.
After six Super Bowl wins in nine trips to the NFL championship game, as well as 13 appearances in the AFC championship game — and playoff appearances in every year but 2002 and 2008 (when Brady was out for the year with a knee injury) for the Brady-Belichick era has become synonymous with the team’s unprecedented run of sustained success.
But there was another name that should be mentioned as well, a Patriots player who also rates as the all-time best at his position — Rob Gronkowski, the greatest tight end ever to play NFL Football. Gronk, as he is known, was a second-round draft pick out of Arizona for the Patriots in 2010 and made an immediate impact, catching 10 touchdown passes from Brady in his rookie season.
Gronkowski caught 92 regular season touchdown passes in his 11 seasons, third on the all-time list. But Gronk did his real damage in the postseason. His 15 TD receptions were the most by a tight end in the playoffs until Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs passed him.
Brady, Gronk a Seamless Duo — When They Were in the NFL
Brady and his favorite tight end played in five Super Bowls together with the Patriots, winning three. When Brady departed New England in 2020 to sign as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he coaxed Gronkowski out of his brief retirement to join him on that team as well. In their first year together with the Bucs, they won yet another Super Bowl.
It goes without saying, then, that Brady and Grownkowski were a seamless pairing, working as well together as any pairing of quarterback and receiver in football history.
So it was something of a surprise, then, that when the two future Hall of Famers held a reunion in New York on Friday, it all went awry when they teamed up to break the sacred Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the Super Bowl winner annually.
Brady and Gronk broke the Lombardi???
The reunion took place at the Jacob Javits Center, the major New York City convention facility that this weekend is home to the Fanatics Fest 2025 event, in which sports celebrities take part in competitions pitting their skills against other celebrities as well as fans.
Second Attempt at Completing the Trophy Pass
In a corridor at the Javits, surrounded by spectators, Brady tossed the trophy — or perhaps a replica of the iconic silverware — to Gronkowsi several yards away.
The once sure-handed receiver caught the trophy — but not without a piece of the metallic object breaking off and falling to the floor, leaving Gronk embarrassed and Brady gobsmacked.
The toss was apparently an attempt to recreate a previous trophy-toss between the two, after the Buccaneers won the 2020 Super Bowl, when Brady tossed it across the Florida water during a boat parade celebration of Tampa Bay’s championship.
The trophy pass was completed back then. This time, not so much.
“You broke it,” a stunned Brady said to Gronkowski as they examined the damage to the Lombardi. “You are washed up. I’m going home.”
