The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a "special thanks" from Beyonce at the end of her "Lemonade" special this weekend ... and TMZ Sports has learned it all has to do with a favor the team did for Jay Z.
We didn't notice any players in the special ... or stadium shots or any other obvious Bucs references -- so, we asked the team ... why did Bey shout-out TB?
A rep for the team told us, "We actually were not involved with Lemonade, it was actually just a thank you for allowing Jay-Z to come and work out at our facilities during their time here in Tampa as they were preparing for the start of her tour.