The future Hall of Fame tight end said the “main reason” he came out of retirement to play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was due to his mother, Diane, being nearby in Florida.

“You know, everyone keeps asking me ‘Did Tom (Brady) get you to Tampa?’” the 31-year-old Gronkowski said on Friday’s airing of “The Ellen Show.” “Well, of course it didn’t hurt that Tom went to Tampa, you know, and the opportunity to go to Tampa was there too. But you know, Tom was like the appetizer, and then there’s a few other reasons. I love the weather. But the main course, the main reason why I came down to Tampa to play is because my mother live two hours away. She can get to all the games, all eight of our home games. Whenever I have days off, she’s two hours down the street and I get to see her. So she’s super excited.”

Gronkowski, who was born in Amherst, New York, unretired after one year away from football and in April was traded from the Patriots to the Buccaneers for draft picks.

It set up a reunion with his favorite quarterback, one that may have never happened had the 42-year-old Brady signed elsewhere this offseason.

Gronkowski won three Super Bowls alongside Brady in New England, and the pair is expected to lead one of the most dynamic offenses this coming season with the Buccaneers.

Gronkowski is under contract in Tampa Bay for one year at $10 million ($9 million guaranteed).