Football

Ah, what could have been.

Tom Brady was choppin' it up with Mark Davis at the Las Vegas Aces game on Tuesday ... a sight that would be a lot more frequent had the NFL superstar's free agency gone differently in 2020.

TB12 soaked in some WNBA action ahead of his big golf showdown against QBs Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in "The Match" ... and ended up sharing a moment with the Raiders owner.

Of course, Brady reportedly had LV on his shortlist of teams back when he left the Patriots in free agency two years ago ... and famously said in an episode of "The Shop" he was shocked a team (people assumed he was talking about the Raiders) chose to stick with "that motherf***er" (hi, Derek Carr) over him.

Anywho, TB12 was posted up with his sister and Jim Gray for the Aces' matchup against the Connecticut Sun ... a victory for the home team.

Brady was able to chat with players while at the game as well ... keeping cool, calm and collected just hours before hitting the links.

John Madden is receiving yet another huge honor following his death ... EA Sports just revealed the Hall of Famer will grace the covers of the "Madden 23" video game this year.

The game -- the most popular football one ever made -- will feature three different versions ... and officials at EA Sports say all three covers will honor various points of Madden's life.

The "All Madden Edition" artwork was released by the video game giant on Wednesday ... showing a young Madden smiling with a football in his hand.

The covers will mark the first time the former Raiders coach and legendary broadcaster has been the main art on the front of the game since 2000.

In his place the past 22 years, the game's biggest stars -- including Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Lamar Jackson and Rob Gronkowski -- have graced the covers of the game.

In addition to announcing the cover art, EA Sports also revealed Wednesday it's dedicating a field at its headquarters in Northern California to the legend who died in December.

Madden is expected to be honored in several other ways in this year's game -- EA Sports officials are slated to announce more features in the coming days and weeks.

A 23rd female massage therapist is now suing Deshaun Watson ... claiming she's decided to file the docs after watching the HBO special on the quarterback earlier this month.

In the lawsuit, filed in Harris County, Texas on Tuesday and obtained by TMZ Sports, Nia Smith says Watson was sexually inappropriate with her during three separate massage sessions in 2020.

Her allegations -- which are similar to the other 22 masseuses who have sued Watson in the past two years -- had been made public before ... she spoke about them in an interview in July 2021, but had said she did not sue Watson over it all, fearing backlash.

However, in her suit, Smith claimed after watching a piece on Watson and his accusers during HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" last week ... she changed her mind.

"After seeing Watson publicly refuse to take responsibility for his action," Smith's attorney, Tony Buzbee, wrote in the documents, "saying he had 'no regrets,' and Watson's lawyer repeatedly calling the women liars, [Smith] decided enough was enough."

"She decided that Watson needs to be held accountable," Buzbee added. "She does not want him to get away with his lies."

In her suit, Smith is asking for "minimal compensatory damages."

"Today we filed suit for the 23rd plaintiff in this litigation," Buzbee said in a statement to TMZ Sports following the filing. "Other cases may come. The Watson defense team has vilified these women and this cause. Shame on them! We look forward to trying this case in court."

Jay Cutler boasted this week that his bank account didn't take a big hit in his divorce with Kristin Cavallari ... joking, "when the settlement came through, I threw a party."

Cutler shared a laugh about his split with Cavallari during a conversation with Clay Travis on his "Uncut with Jay Cutler" podcast ... saying he believes he made off just fine when he and the former "Hills" star officially broke things off.

"I don't know what I can say, first of all," Cutler said on the podcast with a chuckle. "I don't know if I made money, I just didn't ... [I] did OK."

Cutler, though, made it clear that Cavallari -- who runs an ultra-successful jewelry biz now -- didn't lose her ass in the divorce either.

"I don't recommend divorce for anybody, let me go ahead and say that," Cutler said on the pod (the full episode air Wednesday at midnight ET). "But, it worked out. It worked out for Kristin, it worked out for me. It is what it is."

Jay -- who married Cavallari in 2013, seven years after he was drafted by the Denver Broncos -- reportedly made over $120 million in his NFL career. Cavallari, meanwhile, reportedly has a net worth of around $30 million.

The two had quarreled over money (specifically funds to buy another home) following the announcement of their divorce in 2020 ... but it seems that all got worked out to everyone's satisfaction.

Jeff Gladney, Arizona Cardinals cornerback and former 1st round draft pick, died early Monday morning following a car accident in Dallas.

He was only 25 years old.

The details surrounding the fatal Memorial Day crash are not yet clear.

Gladney, born in Texas in 1996, was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the 31st overall pick in 2020 ... after starring at TCU.

The standout corner played in all 16 games for the Vikes in 2020 ... racking up 81 tackles (63 solo).

However, Jeff was cut by Minnesota in the summer of 2021 after being accused of assaulting his girlfriend. The case ultimately went to trial, and Gladney was found not guilty. But, because the trial took time, JG was forced to sit out the entire 2021 season.

After the not guilty verdict, he was free and clear to resume his very promising football career. In fact, the Cardinals just signed Jeff to a new contract in March 2022.

Gladney's agent released a statement, saying ... "We are asking prayers for the family and privacy at this most difficult time."

The NFL world is also mourning the passing. The Cardinals organization issued a statement addressing the tragic news.

"We are devastated to learn of Jeff Gladney's passing. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and all who are mourning this tremendous loss."

Jeff's former TCU teammate, Eagles WR Jalen Reagor, is grieving the loss of his close friend.

"Lost my Brother, my best friend, my right hand man… ain't too much more I can take man damn! R.I.P Jeff Gladney, brother watch over me please."

New Cardinals teammate J.J. Watt spoke on the tragedy, writing "Horrifying news to hear this morning. Just tragic. Rest In Peace Jeff."

The Vikings also issued a statement.

"We are saddened by the tragic death of former Viking Jeff Gladney. Our hearts go out to his family and friends, as well as the Arizona Cardinals organization and Jeff's current and former teammates and coaches who are mourning his life lost much too soon."

Rest in peace.

Last time Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen stepped on a field together, they were battling in arguably the greatest NFL playoff game of all time ... a thriller that prompted the creator of "The Match" to call TV execs on the spot to set up Wednesday's round.

TMZ Sports talked to the creator, TV producer Bryan Zuriff ... and asked how he locked down four of the most famous/talented quarterbacks -- Mahomes/Allen ... and Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.

"Literally after the game that day when they had that epic game, they scored like 28 points in 3 minutes. Probably the greatest game in football history. I texted the network and said, 'We gotta do something with these guys. This is the future of the NFL,'" Zuriff told us.

Of course, the Bills and Chiefs faced off on January 23, 2022 in the divisional round of the playoffs ... and the game was CRAZY. The lead changed hands 3 times in the final 2 minutes ... a period that saw 25 points scored.

Allen and the Bills ultimately had their hearts broken, losing the game to Pat and the Chiefs.

Bryan also talked about his partnership with TB12 ... who along with being a competitor, is also a producer of the event.

"Tom is an incredible partner. He goes the extra mile with everything he does. He's truly one of the great people to work with in the world. I'm very fortunate he's a producer with me and he's a great partner and is super passionate about golf," Zuriff says.

And, Bryan believes his event is having a big impact on the game of golf, and its popularity.

"I really think we are actually growing the game more so than traditional PGA tournaments that you see every week, because we're reaching the fans in different sports to come into golf, and all these athletes are playing golf."

Zuriff also told the story of how the original Match came to be (it came to him in a dream!) ... a story that involves both Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Phil and Tiger -- one of the best rivalries in the sport's history -- ultimately faced off in a match play style event in November 2018 for a reported purse of $9 million. Mickelson beat Woods.

Steph Curry and Peyton Manning have also played in The Match, among other sports stars.

The Match -- the 6th iteration -- goes down Tuesday evening on TNT!

New NFL star Aidan Hutchinson ain't the only Hutchinson having a helluva 2022 ... his sister, Aria, just took home the "Miss Michigan" crown!!!

The sibling of the Detroit Lions rookie -- who was taken with the #2 overall pick in last month's NFL draft -- officially earned the title at a ceremony in Michigan on Saturday.

She'll now compete for the title of "Miss USA" later this year.

"Years in the making. Years of discovery, evolution, and dreaming of this moment," Aria wrote of the accomplishment on her social media page on Monday.

"Can't begin to convey my gratitude for everyone who's supported me on this journey. I can't wait to use this title for good, helping and inspiring as many people as possible. What a gift this is!"

At the ceremony over the weekend, the 23-year-old was visibly emotional as she received her tiara ... appearing to well up with tears while she was on the stage.

The moment is just the latest great one for Aidan and Aria ... who, after celebrating Aidan's NFL draft, also celebrated their graduation together from the University of Michigan!

Jerry Jeudy is breathing easier today ... TMZ Sports has confirmed prosecutors are dropping the criminal case against the NFL star.

A spokesperson for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office tells us officials formally filed a motion to dismiss all of the charges against the Denver Broncos wideout on Tuesday morning.

The filing comes just three weeks after the 23-year-old was arrested following an incident with the mother of his 1-month-old child.

Jeudy had been accused of withholding property from the woman who officers at the time claimed was trying to leave his presence on May 12 in Arapahoe County. He was booked on charges of 2nd-degree criminal tampering w/a domestic violence enhancer.

Throughout the case, though, Jeudy's attorney -- Harvey Steinberg -- had argued the receiver should have never been arrested. On Tuesday, he celebrated the D.A.'s decision in a statement to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.

"Nothing rose to the level of a crime," Steinberg said. "I like Jerry and he is a good person and this is a minor bump in the road of what I think will be a sterling career."

Warren Moon says if the Raiders do sign Colin Kaepernick, the Hall of Famer could see them using the QB in packages similar to ones that Cam Newton and Tim Tebow have had in the past.

Speaking just a day after Kaep completed a workout for Vegas coaches and execs ... Moon told TMZ Sports he didn't see the tryout as some sort of publicity stunt for the Raiders.

Instead, Moon told us because of the way Josh McDaniels has coached Newton and Tebow in special roles at previous stops -- he could see the Raiders head man developing similar dual-threat packages for Kaepernick.

"[McDaniels] knows how to work with that type of quarterback," the NFL legend said. "Maybe there's a package of plays that he can put in that help the Raiders maybe in game time situations."

Moon says in addition to that, he sees Kaepernick's experience also being a benefit if the Raiders do ultimately sign him to a deal.

"If you look at the backups they have right now, they don't have a whole lot of experience as far as game time," Moon said. "So, I think it makes a lot of sense to bring him in and take a look and see what he's still got left."

If Kaepernick -- who hasn't played in the NFL since the 2016 season but has been training like a madman recently to get back -- doesn't ultimately get a Raiders contract ... he said he's hopeful the Vegas tryout opens the door for other teams in the future.

Von Miller can breathe a sigh of relief -- the NFL superstar's revenge porn lawsuit has been dismissed.

Court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, show the case was officially tossed out with prejudice on Wednesday.

We broke the story -- the 2-time Super Bowl champ was accused of sending sexually explicit pictures taken with a woman to two celebrities "in a fit of jealousy, anger, and rage" in May 2020.

The unnamed woman claimed Von sent texts to the celebs ... saying things like, "This the bitch you want? You can have her dawg."

It's unclear whether a settlement was reached ... but the woman was seeking "monetary damages."

The 8-time Pro Bowler had not spoken publicly about the lawsuit ... and it's unclear if the league ever looked into the claims.

Browns linebacker Anthony Walker's presser was interrupted in a very good AND expensive way -- Deshaun Watson came up and gifted him a brand new Rolex as a "thank you" for giving up his jersey number!!

#4 has belonged to Walker since he signed with the Browns in 2021 ... which is the same number Watson's been rockin' since his Clemson and Texans days.

When the quarterback was shipped to Cleveland in March, Walker gave up his jersey on the spot ... and Watson rewarded him by handing over a Rolex box during his press conference after OTAs on Wednesday.

"Appreciate you, man," Walker said to Watson during his presser.

The two hugged it out and media members were left curious ... with one reporter asking, "You're not gonna open that here?"

Walker laughed it off ... saying, "Nah, I'm not. That's a good guy," ... but the media were determined to get to the bottom of things and asked if it was for about the number change.

"We'll keep that on the hush, but yeah."

Watson has been showing major love -- not to just Walker -- but to the whole team ... just last week, he took the Browns' offense on a trip to the Bahamas for some team bonding.

Colin Kaepernick could be back in the NFL as early as next month ... 'cause the quarterback has scheduled a workout with the Raiders -- and if it goes well, the team could sign him to a contract.

ESPN's Adam Schefter just broke the news ... reporting the tryout will go down in just a few days.

Kaepernick has been preparing like a madman for this for years -- but has recently ramped up his workouts in the last few months for this specific moment.

As we reported, the 34-year-old has toured the country since the end of winter a few months ago, throwing to wide receivers in various cities weekly.

And, at one of his most recent stops in Washington, he pleaded with NFL GMs to just give him a tryout ... explaining, "I think my talent, my skill set will speak for itself."

The Raiders' owner, Mark Davis, has always been open to giving Kaepernick that chance -- saying back in April he believed the guy could still play.

"If our coaches and general manager want to bring him in or want him to be the quarterback on this team," Davis said, "I would welcome him with open arms."

Call Ricky Williams Errick Miron now ... the former Miami Dolphins star announced he's legally changed his name -- saying he made the move, in part, to try to fix an "imbalance" in his marriage with his wife.

Williams -- whose birth name is Errick -- joined “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” last week ... where he confirmed that he's assumed the last name of his wife, Linnea Miron, following their marriage.

The 45-year-old told the show he made the name change official about a year-and-a-half ago ... saying it was something he had been strongly considering once he and Linnea tied the knot.

"Something I've been thinking about and talking about, and I finally went through the steps and I went to the social security office with my marriage certificate and I went through the process," the aforementioned Williams said.

"It was quick and easy and it felt meaningful," he added. "It felt really meaningful."

Errick -- who spent 11 seasons in the NFL, rushing for over 10,000 yards -- said the motive for him making the drastic change was after he felt his wife was being overshadowed by him.

Errick said his wife -- who's an attorney -- can hold her own in social circles, but he acknowledged that when she's around him, she found herself neglected due to his fame.

As a result, Errick said he started brainstorming ways he could address it all ... and came up with the idea to take her last name.

"I've found that that's been really powerful in creating ease, intimacy, and trust in my relationship," he said.

Errick added that Williams “is not even really” his last name.

"My grandma, obviously, back then you don't say anything," Errick explained. "And so, Williams was her husband's name, but wasn't my dad's father. So, Williams is not even really my last name."

Two of Deshaun Watson's 22 accusers are voicing their disgust over the quarterback's new $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns ... claiming the team only cares about his talents, not the disturbing claims made against him.

Massage therapists Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes are set to appear on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on Tuesday ... and will detail their alleged experiences with the Pro Bowl quarterback while also reacting to the guaranteed deal he signed with the Browns in March.

"It’s just like a big screw you," Solis told Soledad O'Brien in a preview of the show. "That's what it feels like. That, 'We don't care. He can run and throw, and that's what we care about.'"

Hayes added, "It was sick to me ... I felt like he's being rewarded for bad behavior."

As we previously reported, Solis addressed media members in April, speaking about her alleged experiences with the QB ... and saying she is a "survivor."

Tony Buzbee -- the attorney for all 22 accusers -- said he believes the Browns and the NFL simply do not care about what Watson allegedly did during massage sessions.

While Watson declined to appear on the show, one of his attorneys, Leah Graham, explained why the public should believe her client over 22 women.

"It's 22 women," Graham said. "It's one lawyer. There's only one lawyer who was willing to take these cases. And, as we know from Ashley Solis' deposition, Mr. Buzbee was not the first, probably not the second or third lawyer she went to, but he was the only one to take her case."

"Why?" she added. "Not because it had merit, but because he would use these cases to increase his social media following and quite frankly to get on shows like this one."

Watson has adamantly denied any wrongdoing -- in his introductory presser with Cleveland media, he stated he "never assaulted any woman, I never disrespected any woman."

The whole episode will air Tuesday night.

49ers defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw -- a former first-round draft pick -- went ballistic on a reporter on Tuesday night ... calling the man a "lil d*** n****" and telling him to "stop f***ing playing with me."

The heated confrontation all went down on Grant Cohn's YouTube channel -- after the two had gotten into a spat at San Francisco's organized team activity earlier in the day.

According to Cohn, at the workout, Kinlaw sought him out on the field, cursed at him and then knocked the hat off of his head.

When Cohn was breaking down the altercation -- and other aspects of the Niners' practice -- during a YouTube live stream hours later ... Kinlaw called in, and began cussing out the media member.

With a mouthful of food, Kinlaw berated Cohn repeatedly ... clearly upset with the way Cohn has criticized him and his teammates in the past.

"I'm a man just like you," Kinlaw told him on the stream. "My nuts is bigger than yours, brother. Put some respect on my name. My balls is bigger than yours, brother. Put some respect on my name."

Kinlaw swore at Cohn for roughly six minutes ... and during the rant, he vulgarly addressed the run-in he had with the reporter hours earlier.

"All I know is when I walked up on you, your f***ing body temperature was f***ing cold as ice," Kinlaw said. "Straight bitch. Your f***ing balls shriveled up. Lil d*** n****. Stop f***ing playing with me, bruh."

Kinlaw added, "You don't f***ing know me like that. None of y'all mother f***ers know me like that, bruh. Stop playing with me. I'm not the one. I'm f***ing not the one, bruh. My whole family know what you look like."

Cohn later said on Twitter he took that line as a threat.

Kinlaw eventually left the stream without further incident. We've reached out to the 49ers for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Chuck Liddell says Brendan Langley should turn his crummy situation into potential cash ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the ex-NFL player should try pro fighting after his wild brawl with an airline employee last week.

The UFC star watched the vid of Langley and a United Airlines worker duking it out while at LAX on Tuesday ... and it wasn't hard to tell, despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the fistfight, the Iceman was impressed with Langley's power.

So much so, Chuck said he believes Langley -- a former Denver Broncos third-round pick -- should seriously consider trying to make a career out of throwing his hands going forward.

"Those fights are doing well," Liddell said of amateurs, viral video stars and celebs getting in the ring. "Turn him into a fighter. Have him fight somebody!"

Liddell says a YouTuber would make sense as a potential opponent for the 27-year-old.

Langley, meanwhile, could be looking for the work ... the Calgary Stampeders announced Tuesday afternoon that they have suspended their wide receiver indefinitely after the fight.