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THIS IS AWESOME!!!

David Ayres -- the Zamboni driver who came in as an emergency goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL game last week -- is getting his own, official trading card!!!

A spokesperson for Upper Deck tells TMZ Sports there was a SERIOUS demand for Ayres cardboard after he helped secure a win for the Canes when their top two goalies went down on Feb. 22.

So, we're told the card co. went to work ... and not only locked up an individual deal with the 42-year-old -- but made him his own, dope card quickly!!

The card features a shot of David in his gear standing in goal ... and on the back bio, it spells out exactly how Ayres turned from Zamboni driver to NHL player!!

"After giving up two quick goals," the card reads, "he stood tall and saved the next eight shots he faced, helping Carolina prevail 6-3 and earning a win in his surprise NHL debut."

Upper Deck officials say the card will be available in packs this week.

It's Odell Beckham's favorite time of the year!!! No, not football season ... it's Paris Fashion Week ... and the Browns' superstar made sure to look the part.

OBJ hit up the Virgil Abloh x Baccarat party on Thursday ... and the dude was draped in new Louis Vuitton from head-to-toe.

So, let's break it down -- on top, Odell was wearing the monogram reversible jacket, which comes with a hefty $5,250 price tag.

Of course, the swag didn't stop there -- naturally, Beckham paired the jacket with the monogram cargo pants with removable 3D pockets (thankfully, Odell decided to ditch the boxy pockets).

As for the trousers, they come with a $2,010 price tag.

To top it all off, OBJ had some pretty special pair of Jordan 1s -- the Pass The Torch Js, which were designed for Kawhi Leonard after winning the 2014 NBA Finals and run around $1-2k a pop nowadays.

LaVar Ball is bringing back the Big Baller Brand in a huge way -- but admits he's still not 100% sure if his NBA-destined son LaMelo will wear BBB shoes when he gets to the pros.

FYI, 18-year-old Melo is definitely a top prospect in the 2020 NBA Draft -- some people think he could go as high as #1. His older brother Lonzo Ball was the #2 pick back in 2017.

And with LaVar relaunching BBB with the promise of new basketball shoes and other items, the guys on "TMZ Live" asked if he'd be signing his youngest son to an endorsement deal.

"Will he be wearing a Big Baller Brand shoe? I don't know," LaVar said ... "You're going to have to stay tuned for that man."

Here's the deal ... we already know multiple top shoe companies have their eyes on LaMelo -- including Nike -- and it's obvious why ... he's got superstar potential.

But at this point, we're told Melo hasn't signed on the dotted line with anyone -- though it's pretty clear his father wants him to stay with the family business.

That said, if a company like Nike or Puma comes to the table with a $50 million shoe deal ... can you really say no?!

And here ... we ... go!!!!

Tom Brady might really be on his way outta Foxborough ... 'cause his agents have been busy meeting with potential suitors while in Indy for the NFL Combine, this according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Talks of TB12 leaving the Patriots intensified on Thursday ... with ESPN's Jeff Darlington going as far as to say he'd be very surprised if the 6-time champ returned to New England.

Now, the NFL Network is naming names ... with Rapoport saying the Colts, Raiders and Chargers have met with Brady's longtime agents, Don Yee and Carter Chow, about their superstar client.

In fact, TMZ Sports spoke with Brady's old teammate, Willie McGinest, who also believed the 42-year-old QB could either retire or end up elsewhere ... so don't be shocked if it actually happens.

As for Brady ... he's probably gonna troll the hell outta everybody until he makes his decision -- whether it be Hulu ads or triggering comments on Keenan Allen's IG posts.

Take a deep breath, Pats fans ... and remember the man brought you 6 rings.

Also, if you think Pats owner Robert Kraft is simply going to let Tom walk out the door without making a solid effort to re-sign him, you clearly didn't watch our shaky, hard-to-hear 12-second BOMBSHELL clip from a few weeks ago.

Originally Published -- 1:12 PM PT

It was a regular Wednesday afternoon in the life of Floyd Mayweather ... which means he hit up a high-end sneaker shop in NYC and dropped an INSANE amount of dough.

The boxing superstar and his entire crew dropped by Flight Club near Union Square Park and you already know TBE didn't leave empty-handed.

Check out the video ... Floyd walks out of the store followed by his bodyguards -- one carrying what appears to be 8 bags.

We're told Mayweather copped several pairs of sneaks -- including multiple pairs of rare Nike Air Force 1's -- coming in at a combined price tag of $11,000.

Obviously, these aren't your normal $90 dollar AF1's ... these are special and hard to get.

So, why the huge haul? We're told Floyd has new TMT sweatsuits that are dropping soon ... and he wanted to get coordinating kicks.

$11k might sound like a lot of money ... and it is. Unless you're Floyd ... who according to Forbes, made almost a billion dollars last decade.

Give me 10 pairsssssssssssss 💸 ... you know you were thinkin' it.

The FBI told the ringleader in the college admissions scandal to lie and say his clients knew he was bribing college officials, and when he wouldn't play ball they yelled at him ... this according to Rick Singer himself.

It's a stunning, possible game-changing development in the case. One of the parents who's being prosecuted -- Elisabeth Kimmel -- filed legal docs Wednesday claiming the government just belatedly produced notes from Singer's iPhone.

Singer writes, "Loud and abrasive call with agents. They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where there [sic] money was going -- to the program, not the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment."

In other words, Singer says he told his clients the money they were paying was a donation to the school, not a bribe to a coach.

Singer's notes have implications that go far beyond Elisabeth Kimmel. Fact is ... Lori Loughlin and other parents will benefit from the new revelation because it goes to the heart of the government's case -- namely, where the parents thought the money was going. If they thought it was going to the school, prosecutors may have had the rug pulled out from under them.

As we reported, Lori and other defendants have complained prosecutors have been withholding key evidence that tends to show the parents did not commit a crime. This new piece of evidence may be the smoking gun ... made all the more powerful by the fact the government didn't disclose it in a timely fashion ... not even close.

John Singleton's youngest child son is growing up so fast ... little Seven is about to start preschool in Bev Hills, and the late director's baby mama wants his estate to cough up the tuition.

Rayvon Jones has filed a petition asking Singleton's estate to give her a monthly allowance of $1,078 to cover Seven's expenses. The money would cover things like the kid's clothing, groceries, gas, and phone costs ... according to the docs. The phone cost might seem weird -- Seven is only one year old, but that's an L.A. one.

In docs, Jones also requests a one-time payment of $2,450 to cover Seven's preschool registration fee to a popular Beverly Hills school. Jones, who says she used to live with Singleton and stayed home to take care of the kid, says she'll begin looking for a job to support their son once he starts preschool.

"Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran is missing nearly $400,000 Wednesday morning after her office was victimized by email scammers who used a tiny typo to gain the upper hand.

The scam started last week when an email chain was forwarded to Barbara's bookkeeper, a woman named Christine. Folks on Barbara's team tell us the email appeared to have been sent from Barbara's executive assistant, Emily ... and it informed Christine she had the green light to pay $388,700.11 to a company called FFH Concept GmbH in Germany.

The problem is that email didn't really come from Emily.

The scammers changed Emily's email address by removing one letter, so they were the ones actually communicating with Christine ... who did ask the right questions. For instance, she asked what the money was for, and got an email back saying FFH was designing German apartment units in which Barbara had invested.

Great cover story because we're told Barbara really does invest in real estate, and FFH is a real company in Germany. Plus, all of this looks even more legit because it appears to be coming from Barbara's assistant.

Anyway, on Tuesday ... the bookkeeper fires off the wire payment to the account listed in the original email. Afterward, she emails Barbara's assistant, Emily -- at her real address -- and it's only then that Emily uncovers the scam. She noticed her address was altered on the previous chain of emails.

Unfortunately, the money is gone, but we're told Barbara's IT folks traced the original scam emails back to a Chinese IP address, and her attorneys are figuring out their next move.

People looking to make a buck off items from the Kobe Bryant memorial will have to go somewhere other than eBay ... 'cause the company is actively working to remove all the items from the site.

As we previously reported ... shirts, pins, programs and other items from Monday's event at Staples Center hit the auction site this week. One XL shirt sold for a whopping $2,025.

But, we noticed multiple listings had disappeared from eBay over the past 24 hours -- so we reached out to eBay to find out what's up.

Turns out, eBay has a policy that prohibits sellers from profiting off of "human tragedy or suffering."

In fact, eBay sent an email to one seller explaining their position -- "Please note, due to sudden and tragic passing of Kobe Bryant - eBay has made the decision to prohibit the sale of merchandise, images and mugs relating to their passing."

"We do not allow listings that attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering."

The policy does not prevent the sale of more traditional Kobe memorabilia -- like autographs, jerseys, photos, etc -- despite the fact those items are in high demand following the NBA star's death.

The 10th Democratic Presidential debate's just moments away from kicking off and a long list of celebs are already backing their horse before the first issue is raised on stage.

We did a little digging ahead of Tuesday's South Carolina debate, and Federal Election Commission filings reveal one candidate flexed his muscles most ... when it came to celebrity donations in January -- Pete Buttigieg:
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson ($2,800)
- Chloe Grace Moretz ($500)
- Thomas Lennon ($500)

He got another $3,000, BTW, from Thomas last year.

As for frontrunner, Sen. Bernie Sanders:
- Simon Helberg ($1,500)
- Rashida Jones ($1,000)
- Danny DeVito  ($100)

Danny's a serious Bernie Bro too ... he also gave him $2,700 last year and even appears in one of his campaign ads.

Repping for Sen. Elizabeth Warren:
- Sally Field ($1,000)
- Lily Tomlin ($275)
- William Baldwin ($200)
- Yvette Brown ($328.56)

Honorable mention: Adam Scott and Elizabeth Banks didn't plunk down anything in January, but each donated $2,800 to Warren's campaign in December.

Not to be forgotten, Joe Biden got donations from Jean Smart ($340) and Josh Gad ($250) -- while Sen. Amy Klobuchar got some love from Sarah Jessica Parker ($250).

Another parent involved in the college admissions bribery scandal is going to be locked up for a while ... this time it's an heiress to the Hot Pockets fortune, who pled guilty to trying to cheat her daughters' way in.

Michelle Janavs was just sentenced to 5 months in prison for paying $100,000 to the scheme's mastermind, Rick Singer, to help her 2 daughters cheat on college entrance exams ... and agreeing to pay another $200k for one of her daughter's to be set up to look like a beach volleyball recruit to get admitted to USC.

Before hearing her sentence, the judge made it clear Janavs had caused harm to the U.S. system of higher education ... and prosecutors blasted her, claiming she held an "attitude that she is untouchable" and "no one could stop her." Her lawyers asked for no jail time, but the judge wasn't buying it.

Prosecutors didn't get nearly what they wanted ...  they recommended 21 months, calling her one of the "most culpable parents" charged in the case who refused to accept responsibility for her actions until months after she was busted. Unlike other parents who pled guilty right away, she was also hit with a money-laundering conspiracy charge.

Her defense team went to bat for her, though, arguing for more than 45 minutes that she's a "generous and selfless" person who's "the rock of her family." It also mentioned a time she dressed up as "The Candy Monster" while visiting kids to talk about childhood hunger.

Janavs' lawyers had previously suggested she's just a loving and devoted mother who fell victim to Singer ... and pointed to her history of philanthropy and devotion to her family in urging the judge to not send her to prison.

In the end, however ... it didn't work.

The Hot Pockets heiress now joins several other parents to receive time behind bars in the scandal, including Felicity Huffman ... who got 14 days in her deal. Others have received sentences ranging from probation to 9 months behind bars.

Remember when Odell Beckham was handing out wads of cash to LSU players after winning the national championship??

Turns out, that act of kindness just helped a good cause ... because Justin Jefferson says he donated the moolah to his local church!!

Of course, giving money to college players is the biggest NCAA violation of them all ... and JJ says he had to meet with the org.'s compliance department to get the situation sorted out.

Jefferson spoke about the infamous incident at the Combine on Tuesday ... saying, "We knew he shouldn't have done it," according to Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, Les Bowen. "It was in the heat of the moment."

The money created a HUGE headache for LSU -- a school rep initially claimed the dough was fake. And then, superstar QB Joe Burrow blew that theory out of the water when he told Barstool Sports the cash was as real as it gets.

LSU self-reported the incident to the NCAA -- and the players involved are not expected to be hit with serious punishment.

Monday they were mourning. Tuesday they were trying to cash in.

Several people who attended the Kobe Bryant memorial at Staples Center are selling souvenir items from the event ... from ticket stubs to program booklets ... and the asking price is in the THOUSANDS of dollars.

We've already found a handful of listings on eBay from people selling their memorial pins, shirts and other items. Most of the listers claim they personally attended the event.

The average starting bid for the Kobe Memorial bundles are around $3,000 -- with a $5,000 "Buy It Now" price.

One seller listed an official Kobe shirt (size XL) from the memorial -- and after receiving 76 bids, it sold for $2,025!

Remember, most fans were only able to get tickets to the event by entering a random drawing. If they were selected, they had the option of buying tickets for either $24.02 or $224 each, with the money going to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Some fans flew from around the country to be at the event -- and they could be selling the giveaways to help offset the travel costs.

Other people feel it's BAD FORM to auction off items from a memorial event -- and those people have been very critical of the sellers.

One thing is for sure ... Kobe items are in huge demand right now -- from autographs to game-worn jerseys and even his 8th-grade yearbook. And, as long as there are people willing to shell out the cash, there will be no shortage of supply.

Kobe and Gigi Bryant's family along with those of the 6 other passengers on the doomed aircraft ... may all end up suing Island Express -- which owned the helicopter -- but aviation attorneys tell us there won't be enough money to go around.

Sources familiar with Island Express tell TMZ, the company had liability insurance coverage totaling $50 million. Our sources say that's not an unusual figure, but given the number of people Island Express transports on a single helicopter and the fact rich celebrities used the service ... the number is low.

Our sources say a more appropriate amount of coverage for the company would have been closer to $100 million. As we reported, Kylie Jenner -- a 22-year-old billionaire -- also recently took the same Island Express helicopter that crashed.

Vanessa Bryant is asking for both compensatory and punitive damages. In terms of compensatory damages, Kobe's family alone might be entitled to hundreds of millions of dollars because his earning potential was enormous. On top of that, punitive damages could take a judgement into the stratosphere.

And, remember, other passengers left behind spouses, children, and promising professions, and they'd be entitled to untold millions as well.

The question ... with hundreds of millions of dollars in possible payouts, who gets what out of a $50 million pot? Fact is, judges have a tremendous amount of discretion in the decision how to distribute insurance proceeds in such cases.

So far, Vanessa Bryant is the only family member who has sued, but our sources say some of the other family members have already lawyered up. More lawsuits are certain to come.

The Weekend and Kendrick Lamar might want people to say some prayers for them ... they're being sued for allegedly jacking music for their hit song, "Pray for Me."

A Brooklyn-based rock band called Yeasayer claims the duo lifted material from its 2007 song, "Sunrise," slightly altered it ... and inserted it into their 'Pray' single, which was featured on the "Black Panther" soundtrack.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the part allegedly stolen from "Sunrise" is a "distinctive choral performance" the band recorded using their own voices. Yeasayer describes it as "comprised of male voices singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato."

The band claims Weeknd and Kendrick slightly modified a recording of its song with "intent to conceal the infringement" ... and used it in "Pray for Me" up to 8 different times throughout the track.

Yeasayer claims the allegedly stolen material is "immediately recognizable" as theirs. The band is asking for all the "Pray for Me" profits and damages. It also wants an injunction blocking further sales and airplay of 'Pray.'