Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski traded duck boats for party yachts on Wednesday.
Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrated his victory with a boat parade on the Hillsborough River to keep fans safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
Brady traveled the route on his new million dollar cruiser called “Viva La Vida”. Gronkowski followed on a yacht with his teammates Scotty Miller, Cameron Brate and Mike Evans on board.
Tom Brady celebrated his seventh Super Bowl victory with his family on board his yacht.Mike Ehrmann / Getty
Rob Gronkowski sits on a boat that crosses the Hillsborough River.Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press
The climax of the affair came when Brady got fans cheering – and maybe winced for a moment – as he tossed the Buccaneers’ Lombardi Trophy to his ex-Patriots batterymate, who was on another boat behind him. Brate came in to reach for Gronkowski.
You can see a closer look here.
Chris Godwin’s fiancé shared an incredible video about the risky throwing and catching from a different angle.
When the trophy got to Gronkowski’s boat, recipient Mike Evans grabbed it and began to celebrate.
Mike Evans raises the trophy.Mike Ehrmann / Getty
Evans played a small catch himself – but not with the trophy.
He was seen throwing a soccer ball to a crew of three fans riding in a zodiac next to his boat.
Locals were allowed to travel with the team along the parade route as long as they stayed at least 50 feet away.
Hundreds came on ships of all sizes to celebrate Tampa Bay’s first NFL title since 2003.
The fans followed the parade.Mike Ehrmann / Getty
And watched even more from the shore. While masks were required in the entertainment districts of downtown Tampa, the city struggled to get fans to comply.
When the parade arrived ashore in Port Tampa Bay for celebration, Brady appeared a little shaky after a few hours on his yacht.
He was brought on stage by backup quarterback Ryan Griffin, as shown in the video below.
(UPDATE: Brady blames alcohol, according to Jamie Foxx.)
A Buccaneers official shared a video where Brady was sure to be celebrating Antoine Winfield Jr. and mimicking the peace sign that Winfield used to taunt Chiefs who ran back Tyreek Hill during Sunday’s game.
In tow with Brady was his daughter Vivian.
Meanwhile, Brady’s social team quickly worked on a festival video and cut clips of him holding the trophy after the parade with footage from the game while Eminem’s “Without Me” plays.
“Yes, we’re coming back,” says Brady in the video before throwing the Lombardi Trophy on Gronkowski’s boat.
Bruce Arians had some good words when speaking to the crowd gathered ashore, saying he had been to many parties.
For the celebration ashore, 18 speeches were planned, which quickly turned into a dance party for the players on the stage.
Here are some more highlights from social media:
Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter below @ k8tmac.
