In the 2010s, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski emerged as an unlikely yet dominant quarterback-tight end pairing the likes of which had not been seen before in the NFL. Brady and Gronkowski prolonged the Patriots‘ dynastic run and brought three more Super Bowl titles to New England before linking up for one more in Tampa Bay — a run of success that only Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have been able to approach since.

But if Brady had had his way back in 2010, Gronkowski never would have become his go-to target and partner-in-crime on the way to lifting the Lombardi Trophy four more times. On a recent podcast appearance with a former teammate, Gronkowski revealed the fight with Brady that probably altered NFL history.

Gronkowski reveals conflict with Brady

Gronkowski recently stopped by the “Games with Names” podcast, hosted by former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman. Gronk shocked listeners by revealing how he upset Brady during the 2010 season — his rookie year in the NFL.

“I remember I ran a flag route, and I ran inside the guy instead of getting outside of him, and he flipped out on me in the meeting after the practice and told me he’s never going to throw me the ball again,” Gronkowski said.

A threat of this nature wasn’t exactly atypical of Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner who ranks as one of the NFL’s most competitive players ever. But to Gronk’s credit, he took the GOAT’s criticism to heart.

“I just wanted to prove Tom wrong,” Gronkowski said. “Like, ‘All right, I’m going to run this flag route every time now and you’re never going to throw me the ball. But I’m going to be open by five yards and you’re going look like the idiot now.’ And that happened and then he threw me the ball about 600 more times from there on out.”

The 2011 season proved to be Gronk’s breakthrough campaign, as he racked up 1,327 receiving yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns. He finished his career with 92 touchdown grabs in 143 games — all thanks to Brady’s criticism, and the two will both be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the coming years.