Growing Up Gronk! Ex Patriots Legend Tom Brady's Son Not Playing QB

Instead of following in the footsteps of seven-time Super Bowl winner and former New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, his son wants to be the next Rob Gronkowski.

Tom Brady's son dreams of growing up to be the next, duh, Tom Brady. Right?

Wrong! In a shocking twist of DNA, Brady's 13-year-old son, Ben, recently began playing high-school football in Florida and has chosen to play not quarterback ... but tight end.

"I was like, 'What do you want to play?'" Brady said on this week's Let's Go! podcast with co-hosts Jim Gray and Larry Fitzgerald. "And he's like, 'Tight end. I want to be like Gronk.'"

Armed with this news, Brady of course texted the only man who would be thrilled to hear it: former New England Patriots' teammate Rob Gronkowski.

"I'm like, 'Yo, my boy wants to be like you,'" Brady said. "And he loved it. He's like, 'That's so great.'"

Said Brady of Ben - whom he shares with ex-wife Gisele Bundchen, "He's going to be a little beast."

Brady's oldest son, Jack, is following Dad's footsteps under center and playing quarterback in high school.

In between his side hustles - and women - Brady has time in retirement to watch his kids play some football. Taking a year off before he starts his new gig as lead analyst for FOX NFL games, he'll also be at Gillette Stadium Sunday when the Patriots play their season opener against the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.

It will be "Tom Brady Appreciation Day," marking the first time the seven-time Super Bowl champ has been back to Foxboro as merely a spectator.

"You know, I used to watch it from the lens of a quarterback," Brady said. "Now I see it more from maybe broadcasting, but also as a fan, and then also still from a quarterback. So maybe a few different perspectives to learn, which will be a really fun thing.”

---