First Call: Antonio Brown, Tom Brady rumors in Tampa bubble up. Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!

In Wednesday’s “First Call,” we look at some rebooted rumors about Antonio Brown going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Former Steelers legend Rod Woodson has an interesting take on how the coaching world works. And Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is ready for the Cam Newton era in New England.

Back to Tampa again already?

The constant rumors about Antonio Brown going to Tampa Bay to reunite with former Patriots teammate Tom Brady were up and down all day Tuesday.

They started with sports radio talk show host J.T. the Brick and Michael Lombardi of The Athletic advancing the idea.

Hearing the same thing, @PatMcAfeeShow https://t.co/QU0umzdbPO

— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) June 30, 2020

Then ESPN’s Dianna Russini tried to quash it a few hours later.

Tampa Bay is not interested in Antonio Brown per sources #Buccaneers

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) June 30, 2020

Brady has made his fondness for Brown clear many times over since the troubled wideout was booted off the Patriots last September.

But now Brady is with the Bucs, and Bruce Arians is the head coach. Arians and Brown have had public feuds over the years, dating back to their time in Pittsburgh together. And Arians made it abundantly clear he has no interest in signing Brown in Florida.

So if something has changed, the details are unclear.

What is clear, is that if Brown goes there … my God! Will it be entertaining or what?!

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!

It’s July 1.

The annual day where Bobby Bonilla gets to … how did we say it around these parts in the 1990s … “Muck the Fets.”

That’s right. Today is the day that the former Pirates All Star gets his yearly $1.19 million check in deferred payments from the New York Mets.

For the second bad signing of him. Not even the first one when he left the Pirates for Shea Stadium after the 1991 playoff loss to the Atlanta Braves.

This was his second tour of duty there in 1999.

Bonilla is 57 and hasn’t played baseball since 2001. He hasn’t been with the Mets since 1999.

Why is this happening? Via ESPN.com last year, “In 2000, the Mets agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bonilla’s contract.

“However, instead of paying Bonilla the $5.9 million at the time, the Mets agreed to make annual payments of nearly $1.2 million for 25 years starting July 1, 2011, including a negotiated 8% interest.

“At the time, Mets ownership was involved with a Bernie Madoff account that promised double-digit returns over the course of the deal, and the Mets were poised to make a significant profit — if the Madoff account delivered. It did not.”

Why was Bonilla willing to do that? Well, in part he left the Pirates for the Mets in free agency prior to the 1992 season for a five-year, $29 million contract. That was the highest in the National League at the time.

Elsewhere in First Call …

• Steelers legend Rod Woodson is claiming that Hall of Fame players have a hard time breaking into the coaching ranks because head coaches have an issue with having another “alpha” in the room.

• The Robert Kraft sex tape story is back in the headlines down in Florida.

• Julian Edelman is rolling out the welcome wagon for Cam Newton in New England.