Football

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is walking away from the NFL at 34 years old, he announced Saturday morning ... with reports saying the retirement is due to a serious shoulder injury.

The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback -- who spent the majority of his career with the Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders -- addressed the decision in a statement ... saying after praying and talking things over with his wife, Heather, he came to the conclusion that his playing days are over.

"For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience," the 2014 second-round pick said in a statement released by the Saints.

Jordon Hudson's start to the Miss Maine USA pageant kicking off Saturday night isn't looking too hot -- she's losing in the People's Choice Award category by hundreds of votes.

Here's the deal -- online voters can pay $1 per vote to pick their favorite pageant queen, and the winner is promised a coveted spot in the Semifinals.

Jordon -- who is representing her hometown of Hancock -- has just over 200 votes to her name, which is hundreds of votes behind the current leader, Greenville's Lexi Bjork with nearly 1,400 votes.

Elgton Jenkins -- the Green Bay Packers star who signed a $68 million deal in 2022 -- was involved in a tense dispute at a strip club last week that required a police presence to mitigate.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the NFL offensive lineman and some of his friends hit up King of Diamonds in Atlanta at around 11:30 PM on May 1 -- and a short time after they arrived, they began quarrelling with some of the establishment's workers.

Jenkins and his crew had paid to get into the spot -- but when it wasn't as lively as they had been told it was, they asked for a refund.

Tar Heels fans lighting the torches and sharpening the pitch forks betters stand down ... Antonio Gates tells TMZ Sports no matter what happens at UNC this season, Jordon Hudson should not be labeled a villain.

Of course, there appear to be many in Carolina blue who are already angling to make Bill Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend a scapegoat following a recent rash of negative headlines about her ... but when we got Gates out at LAX on Friday, he told us the haters should back off.

While he didn't necessarily love that Carolina's new head coach is intermingling so much of his personal life with his professional one -- he made it clear, Jordon will have zero impact on UNC's win-loss record in 2025.

After a public campaign to unretire jersey numbers worn by several New York Giants greats ... the team's 2025 first-round draft pick, Abdul Carter, has settled on a number -- 51!!!

The G-Men announced the jersey numbers Friday morning ahead of rookie minicamp, which Azeez Ojulari last wore before he departed in free agency.

While it's just a number ... it was a long road to get to this moment. After being drafted, AC was hopeful Lawrence Taylor would give him his blessing to take down number 56 from the rafters.

L.A. Rams star Quentin Lake is passing along some advice to Shedeur Sanders ... and given how similar the guys' NFL draft experiences were -- Deion's son would be wise to listen up.

The 26-year-old defensive back delivered a pump-up speech of sorts to the Cleveland Browns rookie just ahead of his first-ever pro practice on Friday ... and Lake made it clear, Sanders can find success as a late-round pick with a famous dad, just as he once did.

Lake -- the son of former All-Pro Carnell Lake -- went in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft ... but he was able to go on to become a team captain and one of his squad's best players.

UNLV football player Ben Christman's cause of death has been revealed ... with officials stating the 21-year-old passed away naturally.

The Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner shared the results with TMZ Sports on Thursday ... which determined he died from cardiac arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy.

Cardiac arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat -- either too fast or too slow -- and cardiomyopathy is a disease that impacts the heart muscle.

Aaron Rodgers might not be married after all -- the NFL legend was spotted out in the wild this week with no jewelry on that finger.

The 41-year-old -- who rocked what certainly looked like a wedding ring while out at Kentucky Derby festivities last weekend -- was seen leaving a Malibu, Calif. gym on Wednesday with no sign of the small black band that made headlines this week.

Of course, it's possible the signal-caller merely didn't want to pump iron with a hindrance on his left hand ... but it's also entirely possible the whole ordeal was a Rodgers ruse.

Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey pulled out all the stops to celebrate their impending arrival -- hosting an extravagant baby shower over the weekend ... which also appeared to serve as a make-up session between the model and her sisters.

The married couple hosted the big bash on the grounds of the Castle Hill Inn in Rhode Island on May 4 ... which had Parisian theming present throughout -- even down to the food and beverages offered to the guests.

The color scheme for the shindig was green -- the McCaffreys purposely didn't want to pick pink or blue because they're waiting to know the child's gender until after it is born, Culpo told Vogue.

Cleveland Browns star David Njoku is clearly ready for the NFL season ... 'cause the Pro Bowl tight end put his incredible figure on full display during a visit to the beach in Miami!!

The 28-year-old ditched his shirt and rocked a pair of short black bottoms for the occasion ... and based on footage of his visit, he was in great spirits as he had his feet in the sand.

Njoku is apparently taking in as much free time as he can before preparations for the upcoming season ramp up in a few weeks ... as OTAs kick off later this month.

Bert Kreischer isn't just a GOAT drinker, he can also hold his alcohol, too ... 'cause he beat NFL players in a stein holding challenge!!

The party boy/comedian put his talents on full display with three pro football linemen -- former 49ers player Jon "Plump Caramel" Feliciano and current Buccaneers standouts Tristan Wirfs and Cody Mauch -- as they all took a full container of liquid and tried to hold it the longest.

Bert's podcast co-host and fellow funny guy Tom Segura also took part in the competition ... but unfortunately for him, he was the first to tap out.

Aaron Donald's been granted a five-year restraining order against a woman he says has been terrorizing him and his family for the last few years.

Donald's attorney -- Peter Lauzon of Lauzon Paluch -- tells TMZ Sports ... the former Rams defensive tackle got the order in a Los Angeles County courtroom on Wednesday.

Donald appeared via Zoom. His alleged stalker, Janelle Anwar, did not show up for the proceedings.

Donna Kelce could have a future in celebrity gossip ... 'cause she just spilled the beans on Jason and Travis' dating lives in college -- all while embarrassing them in the process!!

The 72-year-old mother of the two NFL superstars chopped it up with her boys on the Mother's Day edition of "New Heights" ... and at one point in the convo, Jason asked his mom if she disliked any girlfriends they had over the years.

Donna wasted no time in her answer ... lowkey shading her eldest son by saying, "Jason, you didn't really bring a lot of ladies home."

It's been 12 months since Tom Brady let his friends roast him for a Netflix special, but he's still beating himself up over it ... openly admitting it was a "f*** up" to sign up for the event.

Brady, of course, let his pals throw barbs his way for nearly three hours in May 2024 ... but he admitted once more this week the jokes over his divorce with Gisele Bundchen really hurt his family.

The NFL's GOAT told Logan Paul on the latest episode of "Impaulsive" his kids were super upset over some of the jabs -- and it frankly ruined his whole roast experience.

It's been three years since Kayla Nicole and Travis Kelce split for good, ending their on-again, off-again relationship ... and Nicole is letting the world know she's over still being called his ex -- saying she wants out of his shadow!

Nicole swung by the "Second Wind Podcast," when former track and field champ Marion Jones asked Nicole for her thoughts on the media's portrayal of her since the breakup with the future Hall of Famer.

The 33-year-old responded, saying it's annoying to go into an interview and talk passionately, only for the headline to be something regarding her split with Trav.

Shedeur Sanders will have a new look in the NFL (for now) -- the Cleveland Browns just revealed the former Colorado superstar is slated to wear No. 12 to start his professional career.

The organization just dropped the list of digits all the newcomers on the roster will wear for the 2025 season ... and as it turns out, the Hall of Famer's son did NOT get No. 2, which he rocked his whole life.

Instead, ninth-year wide receiver DeAndre Carter is the new owner of the deuce ... as vets likely have first dibs in the conversation, even if Sanders was one of the most popular players in the 2025 class.