Football

Travis Kelce is said to be "hanging out" with Taylor Swift -- something the NFL world just can't get enough of ... and which bled into Sunday's broadcast of his big game.

NFL announcer Ian Eagle -- who called the Chiefs game Sunday -- snuck in a Swift reference after TK scored his first touchdown of the season against the Jags. It was a simple toss from Mahomes into the end zone ... but a big deal since Trav missed last week's opener.

As Travis and his teammates were celebrating ... Eagle said, "Kelce finds a blank space for the score!" His broadcasting partner didn't say anything, but everyone picked up on it.

Even right after this, Eagle kept it going ... saying Kelce was able to shake it off considering he didn't play last week following an injury. So, yeah, everyone's still giddy about the news.

ICYMI ... word of Travis and Taylor possibly dating first started to percolate earlier this week after The Messenger reported they've been seeing each other lately. Other outlets confirmed they're spending time together ... but stopped short of saying they're full-blown dating.

Based on what Travis's bro had to say about it on TNF ... sounds like they're just banging.

Remember, back in July ... Travis revealed he tried shooting his shot with Taylor during one of her concerts -- but apparently got denied at the time. Since sharing this story, however, it sounds like TS got in touch and then some -- which just goes to show, manifesting is real!

If Taylor and Trav are, in fact, keeping it casual ... that lines up with how she handled the Matty Healy fling earlier this year. TayTay's obviously doing her thing post-Joe Alwyn.

The best QB of the 2020 NFL Draft class might not end being Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts OR Tua Tagovailoa ... at least, that's according to LeRoy Butler -- who tells TMZ Sports it could actually be Jordan Love!!

The Packers legend made the eyebrow-raising claim following Green Bay's win in Week 1 ... explaining he thinks that after sitting behind Aaron Rodgers the past three years, Love could now be best set up for success out of all the '20 signal-callers.

"I think he may be better than those guys," the Packers legend said, "because he's going to have that opportunity because he had to sit and wait."

Sunday's victory over the Bears marked just the second time ever that Love has started an NFL game ... but Butler was clearly impressed.

The Hall of Fame defensive back loved the way the 24-year-old -- who the Packers took with the 26th overall selection in 2020 behind Burrow, Herbert and Tagovailoa -- played within himself ... and he liked it so much, he now believes there's a chance Love finishes his career as 2020's best pick.

Butler actually compared the situation to his own career ... saying that while 47 guys were drafted ahead of him -- and played way more than him as a rookie -- he's now got a bust in Canton.

"There's a lot of guys who went before me," the 1990 second-round pick said. "But I'm in the Hall of Fame -- and they're not."

El mejor quarterback de la clase 2020, de la NFL Draft, podría no terminar siendo Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts O Tua Tagovailoa, al menos, de acuerdo a LeRoy Butler, quien le dijo a TMZ Sports que en realidad podría ser ¡¡Jordan Love!!

La leyenda de los Packers hizo la afirmación después de la victoria de Green Bay en la Semana 1, explicando que después de sentarse detrás de Aaron Rodgers en los últimos 3 años, Love podría estar mejor preparado para el éxito de todos los '20 signal-callers.

"Creo que puede ser mejor que esos chicos", dijo la leyenda de los Packers, "porque va a tener esa oportunidad porque tuvo que sentarse y esperar".

La victoria del domingo sobre los Bears marcó apenas la segunda vez que Love inicia un partido de la NFL, pero Butler quedó claramente impresionado.

Al back defensivo del Salón de la Fama le encantó la forma en que el jugador de 24 años -a quien los Packers tomaron con la 26ª selección global en 2020 detrás de Burrow, Herbert y Tagovailoa- jugó... y le gustó tanto, que ahora cree que hay una posibilidad de que Love termine su carrera dentro de la mejor selección de 2020.

Butler de hecho comparó la situación con su propia carrera, diciendo que aunque 47 chicos fueron reclutados antes que él, y jugaron mucho más que él, como novato- ahora tiene un busto en Canton.

"Hay un montón de tipos que estuvieron por delante de mí", dijo el elegido en segunda ronda en 1990. "Pero yo estoy en el Salón de la Fama y ellos no".

Si Brett Favre tuviera las cosas a su manera, la carrera de Deion Sanders como entrenador habría sido muy diferente hasta este punto, le dijo a TMZ Sports que en realidad trató de conseguir el Salón de la Fama para hacerse cargo de Southern Miss antes de que aterrizara su juego en Jackson State.

La leyenda de los Packers dice que su reclutamiento de Sanders a su alma mater ocurrió hace unos años, cuando el hijo de Deion, Shedeur, era un estudiante de secundaria mirando potencialmente asistir a USM.

En ese momento, el entrenador de los Golden Eagles, Jay Hopson, acababa de dimitir y Favre dice que intentó por todos los medios que Prime ocupara el puesto vacante.

"Sabía que haría un gran trabajo", dijo Favre, que jugó con Sanders en Atlanta en la temporada 1991. "Sabía las cosas que necesitábamos en Southern Miss, él marcaba las casillas. Atención, entusiasmo, llevar a la gente a los asientos. Él habría hecho eso".

"Y, sabía que los jugadores le seguirían", añadió Favre. "Por no mencionar que habríamos tenido a su hijo, que probablemente será uno de los finalistas al Heisman este año".

Por supuesto, Deion nunca se hizo cargo de la USM y en su lugar acabó en la JSU, donde dominó durante dos años. Finalmente dejó Jackson por la Univ. de Colorado donde actualmente tiene a los Buffs en el puesto nº 18 del país.

If Brett Favre had things his way, Deion Sanders' coaching career would've looked a whole lot different to this point ... telling TMZ Sports he actually tried to get the Hall of Famer to take over at Southern Miss before he landed his Jackson State gig.

The Packers legend says his recruitment of Sanders to his alma mater happened a few years ago -- back when Deion's son, Shedeur, was a high schooler looking at potentially attending USM.

At the time, Golden Eagles head coach Jay Hopson had just resigned ... and Favre says he tried like hell to get Prime to fill the vacant role.

"I knew he would do a great job," said Favre, who played with Sanders in Atlanta in the 1991 season. "I knew the things that we needed at Southern Miss, he checked the boxes. Attention, enthusiasm, getting people in the seats. He would've done that."

"And, I knew players would follow him," Favre added. "Not to mention, we'd have gotten his son, who's probably going to be one of the Heisman finalists this year."

Of course, Deion never took over at USM ... and instead, he ended up at JSU, where he dominated for two years. He ultimately left Jackson for the Univ. of Colorado -- where he's currently got the Buffs ranked No. 18 in the country.

New police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows Adam "Pacman" Jones went ballistic on cops following his arrest earlier this week ... throwing a tantrum, while calling some of the officers "stupid f***ers!"

The ex-NFL star's outburst happened at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Sept. 11 ... when officials booted him from a plane after they said he had argued with employees over his seat's electrical outlet.

Body cam footage shows that once he got off the aircraft ... he tried to tell cops what had happened -- but almost immediately, a verbal altercation broke out.

"You need to learn how to talk to a motherf***er, bro," Jones said to one officer on the jetway. "'Cause I don't mind going to jail. I'm letting you know that. But, you better learn how to motherf***ing talk to somebody. Because you ain't my daddy, n****."

When someone tried to calm Jones down ... he screamed, "This s*** is wrong!" Seconds later, cops slapped the cuffs on him -- and then his meltdown really began.

Sources close to Pacman say he was agitated because he was kicked off the plane when he believed he did nothing wrong ... so anything he said was in the heat of the moment, and he still maintains he's the one in the right.

Jones yelled and cussed at cops as they took him away from the plane ... and when they got him in the back of a squad car, he unloaded on one officer in particular.

"You said I was drunk," he screamed from the backseat. "Bitch, breathalyze me. I'm not drunk!"

The cop then told him he reeked of alcohol ... which set Jones off further.

"How the f*** you going to lock me up for alcohol and you ain't breathalyze me?!" he continued. "You sound stupid as f***. It's 6 AM in the morning, n****. I had one f***ing drink, which was a Pinot f***ing Grigiot. Go to the f***ing bar and ask them. You stupid f***ers!"

Meanwhile, back on the plane, body cam video shows the pilot and a flight attendant both told a cop Jones was being unruly -- forcing them to go back to the gate.

Eventually, officers transported Jones to a nearby jail ... where he was booked on misdemeanor charges of alcohol intoxication, disorderly conduct and terroristic threatening -- before he was released.

Jones has been adamant that he did nothing wrong on the plane ... saying he just wanted his outlet to work so he could use his iPad to prep for the New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills Monday Night Football game.

Aaron Rodgers says tearing his Achilles on Monday Night Football was one of the worst experiences of his life ... but the New York Jets superstar is adamant he will recover from it -- and he's not ruling out a return THIS YEAR.

Fresh off going under the knife to repair his tendon, the four-time MVP joined the "Pat McAfee Show" Friday to break down his immediate reaction, recovery and his plans moving forward.

Rodgers said he dealt with "a lot of sadness, a lot of tears, a lot of dark frustration and anger" shortly after going down with the injury ... but he's been receiving a ton of love from his close friends and supporters.

"A lot of the sadness, I think initially, was just feeling like I let so many people down who believed in me, supported me, and made that transition so incredible," he said minutes ago.

Rodgers admitted he could quickly tell it was a serious situation ... but makes it clear he can overcome the ailment and get back to 100%.

"Give me the doubts," Rodgers said. "Give me the timetables. Give me all the things that you think can, should, or will happen because all I need is that one little extra percent of inspiration. That's all I need."

"So, give me your timetable, give me your doubt, give me your prognostication and watch what I do."

Rodgers explained he isn't going to curb his expectations or place limits on his recovery ... so when asked whether he could be back in time for the playoffs, he left the door wide open.

"I think as Kevin Garnett said, 'Anything's possible.'"

Vikings star Alexander Mattison says over 60 people sent him disturbing messages following his game Thursday night ... revealing some contained disgusting racial slurs.

The Minnesota tailback said the notes poured into his Instagram message box shortly after he had a down game in the Vikes' 34-28 loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia.

He shared screenshots of two of the DMs on his IG stories -- and, in both, you can read he was called the N-word. The writers also told Mattison he should die by suicide.

The 25-year-old said the words really affected him ... writing in a caption on the screen grabs "this s*** is unacceptable."

"Under my helmet, I am a human," he said. "A father.. A son. This is sick. SMH."

Mattison took over the Vikings' starting running back reins this year following Dalvin Cook's offseason departure ... but through two games so far, he's totaled just 83 combined receiving and rushing yards -- and in Thursday night's defeat, he lost a fumble.

Mattison explained on his social media page that he's OK with people telling him "you suck" over his play on the field ... but he said the latest batch of messages just simply crossed a line.

"SMFH," he wrote. "This is not OK."

Since he shared the screen grabs, several fans have rushed to the comment section on his most recent post to send words of encouragement.

Mattison and the Vikings play next on Sept. 24 against the Chargers.

Deion Sanders just threw some major shade at Jay Norvell ... doubling down after the Colorado State head coach criticized his "hat and glasses" look this week -- by giving his whole Buffaloes team their own pair!!

Prime and Norvell have exchanged verbal jabs ahead of their big matchup ... with the former saying the game is now "personal" after the Rams coach blasted his appearance on his weekly radio show.

Prime went one step further on Friday ... 'cause during a team meeting, he had his equipment staff hand out a bunch of sunglasses to all the players as a clear response to Norvell's dig.

The whole squad loved the gesture ... donning the gold shades and smiling for the cameras as Prime told them how good they looked.

Sanders said Norvell's diss truly backfired ... 'cause not only did it give his squad some extra motivation, it will also help sell his glasses collab with Blenders.

Brett Favre believes Aaron Rodgers will be back on the field next year ... and when he ultimately straps on his helmet and shoulder pads again -- the Packers legend tells TMZ Sports the QB will be "as good, if not better, than ever."

Of course, Favre says there's at least some chance Rodgers calls it a career after he snapped his Achilles during his Jets debut on Monday night ... but as a guy who's spent years around the signal-caller, Favre just doesn't see a way this is the end for Rodgers.

"I personally think that he will come back," Favre said. "I don't see him going out like this."

And, if and when he returns to the Big Apple, Favre has no doubts Rodgers will find success again.

In fact, Brett says he plans on reaching out to his former teammate soon to make sure the future Hall of Famer gets that message.

"It seemed to me from the outside looking in they had a good thing going there," Favre said of Rodgers' time in New York. "Just the vibe I was getting. If that's the case -- if he felt that way too, give it a shot. That's what I would tell him."

For Rodgers' part, he certainly seems like a guy that's not ready to quit ... just a day before he had surgery to repair his damaged leg, he wrote in an Instagram post that he "shall rise yet again."

Talk about adding insult to injury -- 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was forced to rep his college rival after Iowa State lost to George Kittle's Iowa last weekend ... showing up to his media availability decked out in a Hawkeyes mascot head!!

The pair of Niners teammates placed a friendly wager when their alma maters faced off Saturday against each other ... and, unfortunately for Purdy, the Cyclones lost, 20-13.

Purdy -- who went to Iowa State for four seasons -- held up his end of the deal at Thursday's press conference ... rocking a big Herky the Hawk head as he took the stage.

The whole room thought it was amusing ... and Kittle thanked Hawkeyes staffers for getting the mascot head to SF.

"Go hawks @HawkeyeFootball @brockpurdy13," the tight end said on X. "Shoutout @TylerBarnesIOWA for getting this herky out to cali!"

Kittle also joined in on the fun ... throwing on his former mascot's head as well.

Purdy isn't the only NFL QB taking Ls by placing bets on his former college team -- Aaron Rodgers had to wear Auburn gear after Cal lost to teammate C.J. Uzomah's Tigers.

Are Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift an item? The NFL superstar's older brother wouldn't spill the beans on Thursday night -- though he did give a hint that suggested there might be at least some truth to the rumors.

Just after Jason Kelce and the Eagles whooped up on the Minnesota Vikings in Philadelphia ... the star center and his quarterback, Jalen Hurts, hit the Amazon Prime postgame set for what they thought would be some football talk.

A short time into the conversation, though, Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez brought up Jason's brother's love life.

"I have a 15-year-old daughter," the ex-tight end said to the Eagles star. "And, she's a big fan of a certain pop star. And, you have a family member -- a brother, I think -- and I've been hearing rumors that there's maybe some stuff. Can you comment?"

Jason got a big smile on his face ... and while he initially side-stepped the question -- telling Tony, "I've seen these rumors. I cannot comment" -- when he expounded further, he didn't do much to dispel the chatter.

"Ever since 'Catching Kelce,' everybody's been infatuated with Travis' love life," Jason said. "So, I don't really know what's going on there. So, yeah, I know Trav is having fun. We'll see what happens with whoever he ends up with."

Travis and Taylor were first linked to each other back in July ... when the Chiefs tight end attended her concert at Arrowhead Stadium with a clever plan to give her his number. While Travis said the scheme ultimately failed, there's been rumors ever since that the two found a way to hang out in the weeks afterward.

Neither Travis, who was last in a serious, public relationship with model Kayla Nicole in 2022, nor Taylor has commented publicly on the matter.

Do you want to see Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce date? Vote below.

Aaron Rodgers took the first step in his return to football after tearing his Achilles ... he says he had successful surgery, posting an update from his hospital bed!!!

The New York Jets star quarterback shared a positive injury update Thursday on social media, saying he went under the knife Wednesday ... reporting the procedure "went great."

Aaron's thanking Dr. Neal ElAttrache for "starting me on the road to recovery." Aaron and Neal have a history together, and the doc is renowned in the sports world, operating on star athletes in both football and baseball.

The good news for Jets fans ... Aaron's smiling in his hospital gown, so he seems to be feeling better after initially saying he was "heartbroken" after suffering a season-ending injury just 4 plays into his Jets career.

Antonio Gates says if the Jets are looking for a veteran to replace Aaron Rodgers this season, they shouldn't look much further than Philip Rivers ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the 41-year-old is "definitely capable" of doing the job.

Gates made the claim out in Beverly Hills this week ... in wake of reports that New York could potentially be looking to add a big-name QB after Rodgers' season ended with an Achilles tear on Monday night.

"Philip is someone that's definitely capable of doing it," said Gates, Rivers' old Chargers teammate. "Just because the mental capacity that he has."

The likelihood of the signing, though, seems slim at the moment ... Jets head coach Robert Saleh said this week his team is rolling with Zach Wilson as its starter -- and any outside help they bring in would be, at least for now, a backup to the 24-year-old.

And, while Gates was certainly confident in Rivers' ability to potentially take over in the Big Apple ... he seemed to believe keeping Wilson as QB1 was the right call.

"I'm sure they got him in position to go out and still try to make plays and help them win football games," Gates said.

Dan Marino believes he'd absolutely demolish the single-season passing yards record if he were still under center for an NFL team ... saying with today's rules, he could throw for 6,000 yards!!!

The Miami Dolphins legend didn't mince words when talking about the topic with sports journalist Kevin Clark this week ... believing his skillset would translate that well to today's era.

"The best part about this is I'm retired and I don't have to prove it," the former quarterback said. "Yes, we'd throw for 6,000 yards."

"It would be a lot of fun," he added. "I wish I could."

Marino says a lot of today's rules would have made it all possible for him. He cited the protection of quarterbacks and the stricter pass interference calls as two that would benefit him most in a run to 6K.

Of course, Marino never got close to 6,000 in his 17-year career ... but he did put up an unthinkable 5,084 yards back in 1984 -- a then-NFL record.

A Buffalo Bills reporter bashed Stefon Diggs inside a room full of journalists on Wednesday -- and after the rant was picked by a hot mic ... she issued an apology.

The incident happened as media members were waiting for Bills players to arrive at a podium -- two days after their disappointing, season-opening loss to the Jets.

Several people could be heard on the live microphone appearing to wonder which Buffalo star would meet with them. And, at one point, team reporter Maddy Glab seemed to be asked by another journalist to go help bring Diggs out.

"There's no control over Stefon Diggs," she can be heard saying on the mic. "Dude's going to do what he wants to do."

She later added, "He'll look in my face and say F you. That's how he treats everybody."

A few hours later, Glab said she was sorry for her comments.

"I want to take ownership for what I said today," she wrote in a note on her X page. "I am very sorry for what I said and meant no ill will."

In her note, she explained Diggs not only "marches to the beat of his own drum" ... but he also "has a playful relationship with our video department" -- which is why she says she said what she said.

"I apologize for that," she wrote. "Stef is not in the wrong, I am."

She added in her statement that Diggs is one of her "favorite players to cover" and "he has great character and treats us media with lots of respect."

Diggs has yet to publicly comment on the matter.