Football

The woman in the viral video with Ja'Marr Chase says their awkward hug is being blown way outta proportion ... claiming she and the NFL star are just "old friends."

The lady at the center of the interaction addressed the noise on Monday ... shortly after TMZ Sports published a video of her and the Cincinnati Bengals receiver's cringeworthy moment in front of photographers in New York City.

In case you didn't see it, Chase -- who signed a $161 million deal in March -- was walking out of Zero Bond when the woman tried to hug him, but he gave her the cold shoulder.

11:40 AM PT -- Tight End University has just acknowledged Taylor Swift's presence, sharing a video on its Instagram page Tuesday afternoon of her walking into a welcome event hand-in-hand with Travis Kelce.

A new student is attending Tight End University this year -- Taylor Swift!

The "Love Story" songstress hit Nashville on Monday to support Travis Kelce as he once again hosted his annual event for NFL TEs ... and she looked like she had a blast on Day 1 of the festivities.

While the shindig was created to help the league's big pass catchers come together and learn from one another on the field ... it also features a ton of partying in between -- and it certainly seemed like Swift had her dancing shoes ready to go after arriving.

Those hoping to hear more about Aaron Rodgers' wife can stop holding their breath ... the quarterback just made it crystal clear he's going to keep his relationship private.

The new Steelers star finally addressed his recent marriage on Tuesday's "The Pat McAfee Show" ... and as he was talking about the matter, his frustration with those prying into the minutia of it was palpable.

Rodgers ranted for several minutes about how pissed he was with the way people have been obsessed with trying to find out more about his forever partner.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding will be the G.O.A.T. -- or at least in the presence of one ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned Tom Brady is slated to attend the festivities!!

We're told TB12 is one of countless big names on the guest list for the Amazon billionaire's nuptials in Venice this week ... even though just under 200 people are expected to be there.

TB12 and Bezos have gotten pretty chummy over the years -- in fact, they're neighbors at Indian Creek in Miami ... also known as "Billionaire Bunker."

Joe Burrow and Olivia Ponton are apparently done keeping their romance under wraps -- the Cincinnati Bengals superstar and the model were spotted out and about in NYC together over the weekend.

TMZ Sports is told the lowkey lovebirds were attached at the hip all Friday night ... hitting several different celeb spots before ending their tour outside an apartment complex around 3 AM.

Burrow was in town for the Fanatics Fest ... and was sporting a 'fit that would make Bill Belichick proud -- a short-sleeved oversized hoodie and baggy jeans to match.

Eli Manning and Tom Brady are reigniting their rivalry ... but not on the gridiron -- at Fanatics Fest 2025 in New York City!!

The Super Bowl 42 and 46 opponents were in the Big Apple, taking in the sights and sounds of the massive fan experience. During the event ... Brady made his way over to the WWE entrance ramp, where fans are welcomed to perform their own walkout.

The 47-year-old took on the bad guy role ... stomping and spitting on a Jets jersey and ripping up an Eli jersey -- with the NYC crowd hitting him with boos.

After a sweaty flight to the West, the only thing Jordon Hudson seems to be perspiring over these days is the California sun.

Bill Belichick's girlfriend took to her Instagram page on Friday to show that following a stressful airplane ride from Charlotte to Las Vegas, she's now catching plenty of R&R somewhere in the Golden State.

In a photo she posted, the 24-year-old can be seen lounging with chips and gauc, a trio of chicken tenders, some fries ... and a fruity beverage.

Myles Garrett might be dating Chloe Kim, but he made it clear he's never gonna take it easy on her in competition -- crushing the Olympic gold medalist in a race ... backwards!!

The superstar snowboarder shared the footage on Thursday ... showing the lovebirds lined up for a sprint at a training facility, but the Cleveland Browns defensive end was facing the opposite direction.

To be completely fair to CK, she didn't seem anywhere close to 100% ... and she was wearing street clothes.

Not much on the football field makes Bill Belichick sweat ... but airports? Those are clearly a different story.

Check out these images TMZ Sports has obtained of the legendary coach at Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina on Wednesday ... he perspired right through his hoodie as he attempted to catch a plane to Las Vegas.

Belichick was seen talking to gate attendants at 6:58 AM -- only 16 minutes prior to the flight's scheduled departure time.

Shedeur Sanders is a household name in the football world, but at least one cop in Ohio couldn't recognize him earlier this month ... as new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows an officer initially had no idea he was performing a traffic stop on Deion's son.

Check out the footage -- after cops pulled over Sanders in Medina County, Ohio, for allegedly going 91 MPH in a 65 zone ... the NFL quarterback handed over an out-of-state ID that perplexed one of the troopers who was interrogating him.

"What's with the Mississippi ID?" the cop asked.

Aaron Rodgers' Wednesday afternoon featured a lot of beauty -- sand, sun and fresh air -- but one thing was missing ... his new wife.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was seen enjoying a lovely Southern California day during a mid-week Malibu beach stroll ... and while he had his guns out and wedding ring on, there was no sign of his forever partner.

It's, of course, not too surprising ... as Rodgers has kept tight-lipped about his marriage ever since he surprised everyone at this year's Kentucky Derby when he showed up with a new band on that finger.

Antonio Brown is still clearly not stressing over the warrant that was just recently issued for his arrest ... he was seen on a livestream on Wednesday smoking, joking and gambling.

The former NFL wideout popped up on Kick in an effort to promote a crypto casino platform ... and in video from his time in front of the camera, you can see he was in great spirits despite the felony attempted murder charge he's now facing in Florida.

Brown lit up an unknown substance, took several puffs of it ... and gambled on screen.

Bad blood clearly remains between Bill Belichick's current girlfriend and his former one ... as Jordon Hudson was spotted on Tuesday throwing shade at Linda Holliday.

The dig from Hudson came on her Instagram page ... as she was shoveling praise on one of her beauty pageant friends, Melissa Sapini.

On a carousel of Sapini-related photos, Hudson wrote a lengthy caption that congratulated the former Miss Massachusetts winner on completing her run with the crown. Toward the end is where she placed her Holliday jab.

Henry Ruggs opened up publicly on Tuesday for the first time since he was thrown behind bars for killing a woman and her dog in a horrific 2021 car crash ... and he admitted he would still "love to" play football again once he's out of custody.

The former NFL star got candid with questioners for roughly an hour at a Hope for Prisoners event in Las Vegas ... in an effort to inspire current and former inmates during their journeys to successfully one day reenter society.

Ruggs touched on a bunch of topics in the chat -- including what led up to the November 2021 accident that changed his and so many other lives forever.

Tyreek Hill wasn't going to let Noah Lyles cancel their highly anticipated race without some jokes at the Olympic gold medalist's expense ... calling out the track star on social media for scrapping their competition.

The Dolphins' wide receiver went after the sprinter on Tuesday ... just a day after Lyles, 27, backed out of their NYC foot race due to "complications" and "personal reasons."

Hill's first jab was a classic 'Simpsons' meme on his Instagram Story, with Lyles' face photoshopped onto Homer's body ... implying he's hiding from him after he just ran a 10.15-second 100-meter dash at the Last Chance Sprint Series.

An attorney representing Jimmie Ward in his domestic violence case tells TMZ Sports he believes the NFL player is innocent.

Steve Jackson -- the lawyer who Ward hired after the Texans defensive back was hit with an assault charge for allegedly roughing up his fiancée earlier this month -- said in a statement to us on Tuesday he feels his client will ultimately "be vindicated."

"We just ask that the public reserve judgment," Jackson said, "so that we can show everyone that the Jimmie Ward that they all have come to know is the same person and did not do this."