FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The phone rang last Monday morning, and when DJ Hernandez answered, a familiar voice was on the other end.

Younger brother Aaron tends to dial up quite a bit, but there was something different about this call. The Patriots tight end had just signed a five-year $40 million contract extension with the team, and couldn't wait to share the great news with his older brother, a person he considers his role model in life. Aaron's emotions, however, got the best of him.

Leave it to DJ, now an offensive graduate assistant coach with the University of Miami football team, to lighten the mood.

“He was expressing all these emotions, and I started laughing, because I just pictured this kid who a few years ago in college, didn't know how to do his laundry,” DJ told the Boston Herald in a phone interview, once again chuckling at the thought. “Now, he has this huge contract extension for a great organization such as the Patriots. To me, it was just all kind of surreal. But it was well-deserved.

“I'm just thankful the Kraft organization and coach (Bill) Belichick think as highly as they do about my brother. I think that's a great place for him. It's close to our (Bristol, Conn.) hometown. Our family can watch him play.”

Perhaps no one has a keener understanding of how far Aaron Hernandez has come, how much the Patriots' faith in him means, and how much the tight end has matured, than DJ, who was at Boston College Saturday for the Hurricanes' season opener against the Eagles.

They share a childhood, a history, and a bond that only brothers can share. It's a bond that grew even deeper with the passing of their father, Dennis Hernandez.

Aaron was a teenager when his dad died following complications from hernia surgery. He wasn't always able to cope. He wasn't always able to make the right choices, as there were reports of failed drug tests while he attended the University of Florida.

But DJ, someone Aaron has credited with getting him through the dark days, was always there to lean on, and help guide him through.

Long before the Patriots put their trust in Hernandez, who is now one of Tom Brady's favorite targets, there was big brother, a constant source of encouragement.

“When my father passed away, it was difficult on all of us, but I feel it might have been more difficult on him because he was in the house still, and I was away at college,” DJ said. “At the end of the day, he's my brother, so I'm going to do whatever to help him.”

That's why Aaron hit DJ on speed dial right after signing the deal. And when he spilled the big news, DJ was thrilled. And he could not have felt any prouder when Aaron explained how he was about to deliver a $50,000 check to team owner Robert Kraft for the Myra Kraft Giving Back Fund.

“It's crazy, because you look at him playing basketball in our backyard, and Pop Warner football. To watch him make the strides he's made, and to look where he's at now, it's something that's really enjoyable for me to kind of look back and reflect on as an older brother,” DJ said. “I was really impressed and happy that he was generous enough to make that contribution to the Kraft foundation. It just shows the type of person Aaron's all about. He's the type of person who puts others in front of himself. He cares about people, he cares about football, he cares about his family. I'm really excited, I'm really proud for him. I'm just glad he's in a position he wanted to be in when he was younger. It's all coming true for him.”

The Patriots tight end also knows he's come a long way in the journey. Hernandez talked earlier in the day about the importance of the relationship with his brother.

“I've always looked up to him,” Aaron said. “I've always wanted to ascribe to be as good as him, because he was always a star. And I always wanted to make him proud of me, as well.”

DJ remembers how competitive Aaron was when they were kids. They always had to be on opposite teams.

“Growing up, we usually liked to be on separate teams because we talked so much (junk) to each other and competed so much,” DJ said. “Whether it was him pushing me into a basketball pole, or us fighting with the Playstation remotes over Madden, it was always something that had to do with competing. My mom and dad had to separate us a lot, but I wouldn't have changed a thing.”

He still wouldn't. The grown-up version of Aaron is doing just fine, even if he can't do laundry.

“I'm just so happy to see my brother do well for himself, and doing the right things,” DJ said. “Seeing him mature, seeing the relationships he's been able to develop, the stories and experiences he's had has been something special. Regardless if he's broke or a millionaire, he's the same goofball to me that I love dearly.”