Football

Emmanuel Acho -- former NFL linebacker and "The Bachelor" host -- just got himself the sickest birthday present ever ... a $6 MILLION mansion!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the ex-Philadelphia Eagles player bought the insane Hollywood Hills home for his 31st birthday last month, and he even copped a vacant, 10,156-square-foot lot next to it as well.

We're told the price tag on it all was $6,325,000 ... and check out the pics of the place -- it appears to be worth every penny.

The hillside house -- which sits just moments away from the iconic Sunset Strip -- offers an incredible view of the L.A. skyline from the hills to Downtown L.A.

The dope pad features four bedrooms and five bathrooms and over 5,900 square feet ... as well as a primary bed suite with a sitting area and balcony that overlooks city lights.

There's more -- the crib also comes with three additional guest suites and features large closets and en suite bathrooms ... as well as a massive kitchen fully equipped with state-of-the-art appliances.

Brooke A. Elliott of Aaron Kirman Group at Compass represented the seller, while Kennon Earl of Rare Properties at Compass represented Acho.

As for Acho's feelings on the sale, he's clearly pleased with it all ... posting from the pad last month, "I didn't know what to do for my birthday... #NewHomeOwner #LosAngeles."

Horrifying scene during the Chargers vs. Chiefs game Thursday ... L.A. tight end, Donald Parham, was rushed to the hospital after he violently slammed his head on the turf during a play.

Parham was attempting to catch a touchdown pass in the first quarter of the game at SoFi Stadium ... when his head forcefully hit the ground after he dove for the ball.

The 24-year-old appeared to be knocked unconscious immediately ... with his arms stiffening in the bent position.

Trainers rushed out to the football player ... and unscrewed his facemask, before securing him to a backboard and placing him on a stretcher.

Parham was seen moving his hands and legs while talking with trainers ... but, terrifyingly, his arms were shaking as he was being stretchered off the field.

The Chargers say he was ultimately taken to nearby UCLA Harbor Medical Center with a head injury ... adding that he was "in stable condition." No further update has been given.

"I'm just hoping for the best," star quarterback Justin Herbert said of Parham after the game. "Parham has been an incredible teammate and an incredible friend. He's been nice to everyone in that locker room, and everyone loves him."

Parham has started nine games for L.A. this season ... scoring three touchdowns.

Baker Mayfield is getting his wish -- Cleveland's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday has been pushed back 'til Monday ... after a crap ton of Browns players tested positive for COVID-19.

The league had been dragging its feet all week ... insisting it would NOT move the schedule around -- even with Baker, head coach Kevin Stefanski and a constantly growing list of players getting added to the COVID-19/reserve list.

But, with safety -- and quality of play -- becoming an even bigger issue if the Browns and Raiders took the field as planned, Roger Goodell made the decision to have the game go down on Monday.

There's more -- the Seahawks and Rams game is potentially moving to Tuesday ... and the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles' matchup could be moved as well.

As we previously reported, Mayfield was pissed with the league's handling of the COVID-19 outbreaks this week ... saying, "Make up your damn mind on protocols."

Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump says evidence shows ex-NFL defensive lineman Glenn Foster was choked before he died in police custody earlier this month.

The renowned lawyer made the claim in a statement Friday ... saying an independent autopsy revealed that Foster's body showed "some evidence of neck compressions and strangulation."

Crump said he and medical experts believe it all reveals that Foster did not die of "natural causes" on Dec. 6 ... just two days after he was arrested in Alabama on Dec. 4.

"As we continue to investigate the case," Crump said, "we are learning that Mr. Foster's death in Pickens County appears to be part of a disturbing trend of Black men dying while in the custody of the Pickens County Sheriff's Office."

"Keeping people in your custody alive is literally the lowest bar we can set for a law enforcement agency," Crump added, "and is something that the Pickens County Sheriff's Office failed to do."

"Pickens County owes the family the truth relating to Mr. Foster's tragic death."

Law enforcement officials have been mum about the details surrounding Foster's passing ... with reps from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency only saying that Foster did, in fact, die while in police custody.

"Nothing further is available as the investigation is ongoing," officials said in a statement the day after Foster's death.

We've reached out to the ALEA for comment on Crump's claims ... but so far, no word back yet.

Foster -- who signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and played two seasons for the team -- was just 31 years old.

Brittany Matthews finally wasn't the only one going crazy after a Chiefs win ... 'cause her BFF and Travis Kelce's GF, Kayla Nicole, joined her for the wild celebration -- with the two losing their minds following K.C.'s walk-off dub!

Patrick Mahomes' fiancee filmed it all on Thursday night ... showing the two WAGs going absolutely insane after the star QB and Kelce came back to beat the Chargers in overtime in L.A.

Check out the footage ... after Kelce caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes in the extra period to win the game 34-28, Matthews and Nicole completely lost it.

The two were up in a suite dancing and screaming their heads off -- with Matthews yelling loudly, "Let's goooooo!!!!"

At one point, Matthews turned to Nicole and asked, "How does it feel to be dating the best tight end in the league?!"

Nicole's response? Nothing but pure joy!

"Travis Michael Kelce just had the best game of his career ladies and gentleman," Nicole said. "Period!!!"

The Chiefs are now the No. 1 seed in the AFC ... and are pretty much a lock to make the playoffs.

Adele and Rich Paul couldn't keep their hands off each other at the Chargers vs. Chiefs game on Thursday ... cuddling up in a suite and hanging with Jay-Z and Maverick Carter.

The Grammy-winning crooner and sports mega-agent were spotted on cam during the second quarter of Thursday Night Football ... and the couple was in full PDA mode as Hov and LeBron James' business partner sat right next to them.

Speaking of Bron, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar seemed to have some serious FOMO as his two closest friends hung out with the big musicians -- posting a playful response to a pic of the suitemates on Twitter.

"Who the heck are Jay-Z and Adele’s +1s????" King James tweeted.

It's gotta be a bummer James had to miss out on the fun -- he's always been a HUGE Hov fan and loves to catch a football game from time to time.

But, with the Lakers facing off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, it makes sense why he had to sit this one out.

Adele and Rich have been inseparable since going public earlier this year -- hitting up parties, sporting events and everything else together.

Remember, Hov helps put together the Super Bowl halftime show ... so maybe Adele is up next for SB57 in Arizona??

The NFL just announced drastic changes to its COVID-19 protocols ... eliminating in-person meals and requiring more masks as cases surge across the league.

Officials announced the moves in a memo to teams on Thursday ... placing tighter restrictions on coaches and players in order to "address the increase in cases and the advent of the Omicron variant."

In addition to more masking and no more face-to-face meals ... the league is also ordering teams to conduct remote or outdoor meetings, as well as ban outside visitors on road trips.

"We will continue to strongly encourage booster shots as the most effective protection," the league added in its memo.

NFL officials also said they are looking into adjusting "return-to-participation requirements for those who have recovered from COVID-19" -- potentially opening the door for players to see the field sooner following a positive COVID test.

Of course, this all comes on the heels of the NFL seeing teams lose some of their biggest stars due to the virus -- with players like Jalen Ramsey, Odell Beckham Jr. and Baker Mayfield having all been sidelined this week due to positive tests.

The NFL contends that the changes it's proposing are grounded in data and backed by science, and that the safety of its players, coaches, personnel, and entire NFL community is the No. 1 goal.

Carson Wentz just made sure his O-linemen won't go hungry (or thirsty) for Christmas ... 'cause he just gave them all a grip of meat, booze and coolers ahead of the holiday!!

Colts guard, Quenton Nelson, and tackle, Matt Pryor, showed off the goodies on social media on Thursday ... revealing their quarterback dropped off the presents right in their lockers this week.

In total, the gift baskets for the big fellas included two Yeti coolers, a Yeti water bottle, bourbon and some meats from "The Wagyu Shop."

No word on the final price tag of it all, but since Wentz has made over $100 MILLION in his career, we're pretty sure none of it was cheap.

As for the guys' reaction to the presents, both Nelson and Pryor seemed pumped for the early X-mas gifts ... thanking the QB in their comments.

Urban Meyer is barely out of the door in Jacksonville, but Jaguars legend Jimmy Smith tells TMZ Sports he already knows who should replace him -- Byron Leftwich!

The former NFL star said Thursday just hours after Meyer was canned that he thinks the ex-Jags quarterback is now the right man for the vacant head coaching job in Jacksonville.

"When I think about our next coach," Smith said, "that's the guy."

Smith says his reasoning is simple -- he believes the next coach of the Jaguars has to have love for the franchise as well as previous ties to it, which Leftwich obviously has.

And, given Leftwich's coach resume -- which includes time as Tom Brady's offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay the last two years -- Smith says it should be a no-brainer hire.

"That's a guy that, at this stage right now that we're in as far as the franchise, you need a guy who's going to love the city and love the fans and love the franchise," said Smith, who actually caught passes from Leftwich during their careers as Jaguars.

"I can't think of a guy better than Byron Leftwich."

If Leftwich should turn down the job -- which Smith says could be a possibility -- he told us he wouldn't be opposed to seeing Vikings wide receivers coach and former Jaguars legend, Keenan McCardell, getting a look for the gig as well.

Jackson Mahomes just got burnt to a crisp by a local bar in Kansas City ... being called an entitled, egotistic clout chaser who didn't earn his popularity after the Chiefs QB's brother blasted the establishment on social media.

The TikTokker went off on the SoT cocktail bar this week ... claiming he had awful service at the place while asking his 255k followers if they had similar experiences.

Word got back to SoT, which released an Ether-esque diss on Mahomes via its official Facebook page.

The whole thing is wild, but here are some notable lines:

"We are sorry that we set boundaries that you tried to ignore," the bar said. "Often times people with un-earned status and a sense of entitlement think they are above the rules and will lash out at the employee enforcing them."

That's one of the more tame burns.

"We survived a global pandemic, we’ll survive your ego," the bar continued ... going on to mention Jackson's recent controversies -- pouring water on Ravens fans and dancing on Sean Taylor's tribute in Washington.

"We are sorry you didn’t reach out to us first before taking to social media, but then again that is an expectation we would have from a mature and rational person, not someone who pours water on fans and dances on the memorials of tragically lost people for TikTok clout."

"We have not been fortunate enough to be born into a much more talented and much more famous family but we would like to think that if we did have that much luck- we would use our influence in more responsible ways."

"We hope our apology finds you well."

Sheesh!!!

Safe to say Jackson -- or the rest of the Mahomeses -- won't be back in a while.

We've reached out to Jackson and the bar for comment ... so far, no word back.

Deion Sanders says Jackson State absolutely did not pay top recruit Travis Hunter to come to the school ... explaining Thursday, "We ain't got no money!"

After Prime flipped the H.S. baller from his Florida State commitment to JSU on Signing Day on Wednesday ... rumors began swirling that JSU had unloaded cash in the forms of NIL deals to get him to sign on the dotted line.

In fact, there was internet chatter that there was some kind of agreement with the nation's #1 overall recruit that involved more than $1 million.

But, Deion shot all of that down when talking with Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams on Thursday ... saying there was no money involved in getting Hunter to JSU.

"We didn't pay," Sanders said. "We ain't got no money! We ain't got no money! A million and a half? I heard a million and a half. And I heard Dave Portnoy over at Barstool -- that's the biggest lie I've ever heard."

"You know what that is?" the Tigers head coach continued. "That means we kicked your butt, we took what was ours. And now, you got to make up an excuse why."

"Ain't nobody giving out a million and a half. I wouldn't pay my son a million and a half! How am I going to coach a guy that's making more than me?!"

As for how Sanders says he actually got Hunter to flip to his program -- Prime told the guys he guaranteed Hunter that he'd play both ways, and he also said a visit to JSU for its homecoming game earlier this year was what really sealed the deal for the teenager.

Hunter is expected to suit up for JSU next fall ... and it ain't hard to see Deion is pumped to watch that all go down.

The Jacksonville Jaguars fired head coach Urban Meyer after less than a season ... ending a disastrous tenure plagued by losing and controversy.

The 57-year-old college coaching legend signed a lucrative 5-year contract with the team only months ago.

On the field, Meyer's squad looked flat-out bad ... starting the year 2-11. The worst record in the entire NFL.

He reportedly blamed everyone but himself for the incessant losing ... including assistant coaches and players.

But, play on the field might've actually been the highlight for Meyer ... 'cause off the field, he suffered through several controversies.

Back in October, after his team's 4th loss (in 4 games), the coach stayed in Ohio while his team flew back to Florida ... and was caught cozying up to women in a bar.

Meyers -- who is married -- apologized for his actions ... and reportedly, at the moment at least, got support from the front office and players.

However, the moment was incredibly embarrassing for the organization ... and Urban never really recovered.

In fact, earlier today ex-Jag Josh Lambo accused the coach of kicking him ... and bullying the kicker.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan, the man behind the decision, issued a statement on Meyer's firing to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

“After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone.”

He continued ... “I informed Urban of the change this evening.  As I stated in October, regaining our trust and respect was essential.  Regrettably, it did not happen.”

Of course, Khan's referring to the Ohio bar incident.

Ex-Jacksonville Jaguar Josh Lambo says his time with Urban Meyer sucked ... claiming the head coach repeatedly bullied him and even got physical with him.

The team's former kicker made the allegations in a bombshell interview with the Tampa Bay Times -- saying Meyer not only was verbally abusive toward him during their time together, he also at one point kicked him.

Lambo says Meyer often called him "dips***" and "s***bag" ... and launched his boot into his leg during a practice back in August.

"I'm in a lunge position," Lambo said of the alleged physical incident with Meyer. "Left leg forward, right leg back ... Urban Meyer, while I'm in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, 'Hey dips***, make your f***ing kicks!' And kicks me in the leg."

While Lambo says Meyer could have kicked him harder ... he said the boot still hurt.

"It certainly wasn't as hard as he could've done it, but it certainly wasn't a love tap," Lambo said. "Truthfully, I'd register it as a five [out of 10]."

Lambo said he told the coach to never do that again while on the field ... and when he later brought it up to Meyer inside the team's facility, he claims the 57-year-old got aggressive.

"'If you ever speak to me like that again, you'll be out of here,'" Lambo said Meyer told him. "'You're the first player I've ever let speak to me that way in my career, and if you do it again, you're gone.'"

Lambo said he brought up the issue with his agent, who reported it to the Jaguars' legal counsel. The team says it made the counsel available to Lambo, but the kicker told the Times he has "no recollection of being able to speak with the Jags' legal team."

Lambo was eventually cut by Meyer in September.

For Meyer's part, the coach told the Times the kicking incident did not happen the way Lambo says it did ... saying, "Josh's characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account."

"I was fully supportive of Josh during his time with the team," Meyer added, "and wish him nothing but the best."

Colton Underwood says he would literally hide from his teammates in the locker room during his football playing days ... admitting he was terrified he would get turned on and be outed as gay.

29-year-old Underwood -- who played in the NFL from 2014-16 -- opened up about being in the closet throughout his athletic career in an interview with "Call Her Daddy" ... claiming he went through extreme measures to make sure no one knew about his sexuality.

"I wouldn't shower after practice because I was afraid of getting turned on in the locker room or in the shower," Colton told Alex Cooper.

"I never really was attracted to anybody who I played with, or coaches. So, it's sort of silly to even say that. But, I wanted to avoid any chance of being outed, so I would not shower with the rest of the team."

Instead, the former Bachelor star said he would change clothes in a corner or in a bathroom stall ... or just leave the locker room entirely.

"There was just a lot of things that I sort of did differently than other players because I felt like I had to, because I didn't want questions to start being asked."

The caution remained through college as well -- Colton says he'd even sleep through his own house parties out of fear of revealing his sexuality while drunk.

Colton says his excuse would be that he's too focused on his career to party ... which is also the same reason he said he was famously a virgin late into his 20s.

Damon Arnette -- who was cut by the Raiders after he recorded himself waving around firearms while threatening somebody -- has just been signed by the Dolphins.

The team announced the move Wednesday ... saying it's added Arnette to its practice squad just over one month after the Raiders released him.

The move is surprising -- because while Arnette, a former first-round pick, is talented, his off-field issues have certainly raised some concerns.

The 25-year-old defensive back has been hit with 2 lawsuits in the past year -- with one alleging he injured a woman during a car crash in 2020.

Of course, disturbing video of Arnette brandishing guns also surfaced in November -- and in the clip, the former Ohio State star can be heard making threats to somebody.

"I swear to God I will kill you, n****," Arnette says in the footage. "On everything I love, I will kill you, n****. You talking crazy."

Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said after releasing the corner that the video was "unacceptable."

"We can not stand the video of Damon with a gun threatening to take a life," Mayock told reporters at the time ... "The bottom line; the Raiders will not tolerate this type of behavior."

The NFLPA is going after the NFL ... saying the league's decision to take away daily COVID-19 testing for players has resulted in widespread outbreaks across the league.

"The NFL decided to take away a critical weapon in our fight against the transmission of COVID-19 despite our union's call for daily testing months ago," the PA said on social media.

"We're talking to our player leadership & to the NFL about potential changes to the protocols so that we can complete the season."

As of Wednesday, the league’s COVID reserve list skyrocketed to nearly 100 players -- including several big names like Odell Beckham Jr., Jalen Ramsey, and Browns QB Baker Mayfield.

Of course, that number is expected to grow over the next few weeks -- with the holidays approaching -- a scenario the NFLPA says the NFL could have avoided if they had just listened to them in the first place.

Back in September, JC Tretter -- NFLPA prez -- released a statement on the potential ramifications of not testing daily and what kind of issues that move could present for the league.

Well, now the PA's doubling down on Tretter's initial stance ... expressing disappointment over the league's decision to stop testing players daily.

NFL commish Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director Demaurice Smith haven't had the best relationship over the years ... so it'll be interesting to see how the NFL responds.

The PA did tweet they were in discussions with player leadership, as well as the NFL, about potential changes to the existing protocols.