Money

"It's disrespectful to be honest with you. It really is."

Adrian Peterson says he's fed up with the way NFL owners and GMs refuse to pay running backs their value ... and now, he's telling TMZ Sports he hopes the game's youngsters can change things around.

Peterson famously hasn't had too many issues with contracts over his career ... he's made over $100 MIL in 13 seasons.

But, he's seen other tailbacks get the shaft when it comes time for new contracts ... and he tells us he's tired of seeing it.

"I think the change is going to come," Peterson says. "Me and Frank Gore continue to show guys, 'Hey, we are valuable. We can have 10, 14-year careers as well, so value us as well like you would value a quarterback, you know?'"

Of course, there are still plenty of running backs waiting for the tide to turn ... Zeke Elliott famously had to hold out of training camp to get his big contract, while Dalvin Cook is now threatening to do the same.

Derrick Henry, meanwhile, is being forced to play on the franchise tag ... while Alvin Kamara has yet to receive an extension despite playing on a very Saints-friendly deal his first 3 years in the league.

Peterson says he's hopeful all of that will change soon ... adding, "These young core of backs are really changing the game for the better."

Dustin Diamond needs to be saved by more than the bell if he wants to keep his home in Wisconsin -- the bank is knocking on his door and looking to foreclose.

The "Saved By The Bell" star owes Wells Fargo a whopping $269,329.36 -- according to legal docs obtained by TMZ -- and the bank is asking the court to sign off on the foreclosure.

Dustin tells TMZ ... he didn't even know he was so far behind on the mortgage, because he hasn't been to the Port Washington property since January of last year, as he's been living in Florida instead.

Screech says he moved into the house way back in 2003, when the property was worth $340,000, and tells us he plunked down a $68,000 down payment. He says he doesn't understand how he owes such a large sum. Homeownership ain't easy, or cheap.

Dustin's got a lot of other problems at the pad ... he says a friend alerted him to a busted water main last fall, and the leak was so bad water was flowing out of a first-floor window.

Screech says he lost 30 years of memories in the home's flooded basement ... his comic collection, instruments, chess collection, family pictures and videos were all ruined.

Dustin tells us ... "Foreclosure means nothing when a house is destroyed ... with my items I've lost, it now feels like Wells Fargo is trying to kick me when I'm down."

He says he never went to check on the pad last winter because his friend said the water main break froze over, and there was black mold. He was waiting for the ice to melt to return, but the pandemic ruined that plan.

Dustin still hasn't been back there, and says he hasn't figured out how he'll deal with the bank's foreclosure.

Where's Mr. Belding when ya really need him, right?

Aroldis Chapman now has an insane ride to go with baseball's best fastball -- the MLB star just copped a ludicrous custom 6-wheeled Jeep ... that's covered in Kevlar coating!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the New York Yankees closer hit up South Florida Jeeps in Ft. Lauderdale about two months ago to get the custom whip made -- and it came out SICK!!!

Check out the pic of the ridiculous car ... we're told by shop honcho Joseph Ghattas it started out as a cut-in-half Jeep -- and it was all custom built by hand from there.

The ride has 600 horsepower, features blood-red interior from top to bottom ... and according to Ghattas, it's not only "unstuckable" while off-road, it vapor trails down highways as well!!

All told, Ghattas says the project took about 60 days to complete ... and cost Chapman right around $150,000 -- a small price to pay for a dude who just signed a 3-year, $48 MILLION contract with the NYY.

As for Chapman's reaction when he picked up the new whip this week ... Ghattas says he LOVED the creation -- saying, "He doesn't speak a whole lot of English, but 'f**king awesome' is pretty universal!"

Welp, this is awesome.

Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey just copped himself a new piece of real estate ... waterfront property in Fort Lauderdale and it's huuuuuuuge.

The 3-story home is 7,000 square feet -- with 6 bedrooms, 7 full bathrooms, 2 half bathrooms (that's 9 total toilets for all you mathletes out there), game room, bar, pool, etc.

There's also an ELEVATOR in the house -- in case Pouncey doesn't feel like walking up the stairs.

The rooftop terrace is sick. The private dock is sick. The kitchen is sick. The closets are sick.

We like the house. A lot.

The Listing agents who represented the property were Peter Barkin and Mark Gilman of the Barkin-Gilman Group | Compass. The Buyer’s agent who represented Maurkice was Adam Burke of Grandiose Real Estate, Inc.

30-year-old Pouncey has reportedly made more than $66 mil during his 10-year NFL career.

Kanye West has until 2030 to fulfill his mission of providing clothing for the masses ... and he just might make Gap cool again, in the process.

The rapper and his fashion company just landed a 10-year deal with Gap to launch a new clothing line called Yeezy Gap. The retailer -- widely known as a mall brand -- will introduce the Yeezy merch in the first half of 2021 in its stores and online.

Yeezy's design studio says its plan is to make "modern, elevated basics for men, women and kids at accessible price points" and of course ... Kanye will call the shots, including deciding how his clothes will be marketed at Gap.

The mega retail deal reportedly starts this month and comes with the option to renew at the 5-year mark ... at which point Gap expects YZY to be generating $1 BILLION in sales.

To put that in perspective ... the struggling retailer only hauled in a total of $4.6 billion globally in 2019. But, considering Kanye's Yeezy shoe line topped $1 billion in sales last year ... it's certainly possible.

The collab between the rapper and the retail chain is a long time coming for Kanye -- in 2015 he declared he'd like to be the "Steve Jobs of the Gap," and said he dreamed of being its creative director. He also worked there as a teen.

Some things are just meant to be.

Kanye West's new Gap deal isn't only huge for budget-conscious consumers ... Daymond John says it could also be a game changer for Gap's corporate culture ...if it's smart, at least.

The "Shark Tank" star helped us follow the money on the Yeezy Gap 10-year deal ... breaking down how it could greatly benefit customers, Gap and Kanye. On Friday's "TMZ Live," Daymond said the new partnership will give the masses access to so-called "knockoffs" of Kanye's high-end, high-priced designs.

That's the obvious W for the public, but DJ added ... the real win for Kanye goes well beyond dollars and cents. He says for the amount of revenue Ye stands to make for Gap -- it's already estimating a BILLION annually -- the rapper/designer deserves a seat on the corporation's Board of Directors.

That possibility couldn't come at a more opportune time for Gap, as corporations nationwide are desperately trying to diversify their staff -- from top to bottom -- in response to the protests demanding racial equality.

Daymond -- whose FUBU brand also had Gap ties, courtesy of a late 90s LL Cool J commercial -- says Gap can take a huge step forward by adding Kanye to its Board.

Man knows what he's talking about, because it turns out the 'Shark' is in super-high demand with more than a dozen corporations right now.

Dustin Poirier says he's only interested in taking fights that will help him get closer to a title shot -- and a rematch with Conor McGregor wouldn't help his cause.

Remember, Poirier fought Conor bad in 2014 and lost in the 1st round -- but Dustin's been an ANIMAL ever since, beating stars like Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway.

In fact, Dustin is currently the #3 ranked UFC lightweight fighter -- with Conor behind him at #4.

Poirier tells TMZ Sports he thinks a win over Dan "The Hangman" Hooker on Saturday will get him closer to a title shot ... but he might need one more victory to seal the deal.

So, we asked if he'd be interested in McGregor after Hooker -- but Dustin says it just doesn't make sense.

"I mean I'd love to for the financial part of it but I'm not chasing grudge matches at this point in my life," Poirier says.

"I'd rather fight Tony Ferguson and get closer to the title but we'll see what happens."

Plus, as Dustin pointed out ... McGregor says he's retired from MMA ... so, it's not on the table anyway!

As for Dan Hooker -- who's on a 3-fight win streak -- Dustin says the key to victory is patience.

Maluma will definitely NOT think this is music to his ears ... the famous Colombian singer's being sued for allegedly trying to extort the owner of SoHo House out $1 million.

Richard Caring -- the London-based businessman who owns the exclusive members-only SoHo House locations and The Ivy Restaurants -- is suing Maluma claiming the Grammy-winning singer tried pulling a fast one by trying to get him to pay DOUBLE the amount they agreed upon for a wedding gig ... this according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, Caring claims he hired Maluma -- gov't name Juan Luis Londono Arias -- to perform at his wedding in the Dominican Republic initially slated for November 7, 2019. Caring says his bride-to-be's a huge fan ... so Caring went all out to get Maluma to the DR ... including meeting Maluma's extravagant demands that included 5 first-class tickets, 32 coach tickets for his staff, a private plane for the singer, and a fancy hotel. This on top of the $500k performance fee.

But, 3 months before the wedding, Caring had to postpone the wedding "due to the concerns regarding the ability to deliver an event of this magnitude with the current time constraints." The wedding was then moved for June 2020 in Rome.

Caring claims he contacted Maluma's team asking about availability. Everything seemed to be kosher at this point, and Caring claims he wired Maluma $375k upfront. But, things went south when Caring claims Maluma's people told him he wouldn't "permit or allow Maluma to perform" at the wedding "unless Mr. Caring agreed to pay double." Caring claims Maluma was with the $1 million demand.

According to docs, Caring claims Maluma's people informed him they needed $1 million because the wedding interfered with Maluma's European tour. Caring scoffed at the demand and instead asked Maluma -- who has collaborations with some of the biggest artists in the game like Madonna, Shakira and Marc Anthony -- to return the dough. Caring claims Maluma's failed to do that, so he's suing to get his money back plus damages.

We're told Caring has requested the return of the $375,000 down payment several times since 2019 verbally and in writing and they have refused.

We've reached out to Maluma, so far no word back.

Alex Trebek dug deep into his pockets again to help a homeless shelter get a new facility off the ground -- more than doubling his previous donation for a very similar cause.

Ken Craft -- founder of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission -- tells TMZ ... Alex handed over $500k of his own money to help Hope of the Valley with a brand new homeless shelter they're aiming to get built over the next year or so in the San Fernando Valley.

This new initiative is mega -- they're calling it Hope Central -- and we're told it'll be a 50,000-square-foot facility that'll house homeless seniors in the area. The team is currently scouting properties and will break ground in 2021 -- now, with much more ease thanks to Alex.

Now, bear in mind ... AT's latest donation comes on the heels of another generous move -- giving Hope of the Valley a $100k donation for another facility it's working on in North Hollywood.

We got pics of Alex and his wife, Jean, taking a stroll around the construction site Tuesday and touring the facility, which has a whole wing named after them. Specifically, the largest room in that building, the Alex and Jean Trebek Multi-Purpose Room, where people will eat and chill.

At some point in the day, Trebek and co. also toured another facility HOTV is building in Van Nuys -- and somewhere along the way, they were also seen hitting up a Home Depot nearby.

As for this latest donation, Ken tells us it brought him to tears. He also says the Trebeks told him they hoped it would spur others to donate/help out the homeless crisis.

Apparently, Alex and Jean feel society tends to write off people suffering from homelessness as nothing but drunks and addicts. They clearly don't feel that's the case though.

Cops in Georgia slammed a man to the ground while arresting him, and he says they broke his wrist -- problem is, they had the wrong guy and now he's suing for excessive force.

Antonio Smith claims he was unjustly roughed up and had his rights violated back in February by the Valdosta Police Department as officers attempted to arrest him.

Video of the incident shows cops approach Smith for reported suspicious activity at a Walgreens nearby, but he insists he was waiting at the Western Union for money from his sister.

As Smith begged cops to look into it further, another officer arrived and abruptly bear-hugged Smith from behind and told him to put his hands behind his back. He then violently body-slammed him and told Smith he was under arrest for a felony warrant.

Smith was screaming in pain and in his lawsuit claims his wrist was broken as officers held him down. The video shows the cops were clearly confused about who they were supposed to arrest ... and they realized Smith did NOT have a warrant out for his arrest.

According to the lawsuit ... the officer "treated him less than a human being." Smith claims once he was released, he still feared "additional ill-treatment" from the law enforcement around him, so he refused medical care.

Valdosta PD has released a statement admitting they made an error with the felony warrant, but insists Smith was the suspect reported for suspicious activity.

Police Chief Leslie Manahan says ... "We did have the right guy stopped that was causing the problem at Walgreens, it’s just unfortunate he was not the one with the felony warrants."

However, in the video and in the legal docs ... Smith claims he was not doing anything illegal -- just waiting for a wire transfer at Western Union.

Kodak Black is pissed at Walmart -- claiming the megastore is letting someone sell a knockoff version of one of his famous chains, and he's threatening a lawsuit if it doesn't stop -- but the retail giant is putting the blame on third-party sellers.

Here's the deal ... Walmart is getting dragged online because its website features a cheap chain that looks nearly identical to the Sniper Gang bling Kodak usually rocks.

Kodak’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... "We have been aware of the situation and have prepared a cease and desist letter to Walmart and the seller on the Walmart website."

The rapper's legal team adds ... "If Walmart refuses to recognize that the seller is not a licensed authorized dealer of Sniper Gang products, we will be proceeding with a lawsuit against both Walmart and the unauthorized seller."

Kodak is currently serving a 46-month prison sentence for gun possession.

Kodak's protege, Jackboy, has also called out Walmart for selling the Sniper Gang chains ... and he too is threatening legal action.

It appears the company has gotten wind of Kodak's anger, they tell us they're taking steps to remove the knockoffs and the chains are strictly from a third-party seller.

Michael Jordan's autograph is crazy valuable -- even with thousands of signatures floating around -- but imagine owning the very 1st ball MJ EVER SIGNED!!

Well, if ya got the dough, you can buy what's (likely) Jordan's first autograph ... signed when Michael was a 13-year-old youth baseball player.

Here's the deal ... in 1976, Jordan played on Parkers Food Stores (a local grocery store & team sponsor) Babe Ruth League youth baseball team in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Jordan, who wore #10 -- along with his teammates -- signed a ball to commemorate their 11-3 season ... which ended in a championship.

The team's manager, Dick Neher -- who was a co-worker of MJ's dad, James Jordan -- held on to the ball for over 25 years before selling it in 2002.

Now, Goldin Auctions has acquired the 1-of-a-kind piece ... where it's available for auction online.

FYI -- GA recently sold a similar Derek Jeter piece (Jeetz signed when he was only 8) for $36k.

So, what's Jordan's sig gonna sell for? Well, Jeter's a LEGEND -- but he's not MJ -- so Goldin expects the ball to go for around $50k.

Awesome, right?!

George Floyd's death has not only sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racism, it's also fueled donations to charities and organizations ... especially The Bail Project.

Joseph Pate -- spokesperson for the national nonprofit, which pays bail for people in need -- tells TMZ ... it has received more than $15 million from nearly 200,000 donors in the weeks since Floyd was killed by Minneapolis PD officers.

Other sources close to the organization tell us the support -- financially and otherwise -- has been pouring in from all over the world, including people looking to do volunteer work.

Several celebrities have also been chipping in big time. We're told the band, Wallows, held a fundraiser Saturday where they raised nearly $11k for The Bail Project from roughly 900 donations.

On top of all this ... Nicki Minaj announced a portion of the proceeds from her "Trollz" collab with 6ix9ine will also be going to the org soon. Lil Baby's splitting money from his track, "The Bigger Picture," to Bail Project and a couple other causes related to the Black Lives Matter movement, as well.

The Bail Project has paid $26 million in bail for nearly 11,000 low-income people since 2018, and $11 mil of that has already been recycled to pay new bails.

At least SOME part of Mark McGwire belongs in the Hall of Fame ... so says Big Mac himself, who believes his 70th home run ball should be in Cooperstown STAT!!

"Bottom line," McGwire said out at LAX this week, "it should have been put in the Hall of Fame."

Of course, the ball can't exactly go there at the moment ... Todd McFarlane -- a legendary comic book artist -- famously bought it for over $3 MILLION just a few months after McGwire made history in 1998.

And, despite the ball's plummeting value (experts tell TMZ Sports it's worth only around $300K-$400K), McFarlane doesn't seem at all ready to part with it, even for the Hall.

He told us last week he still loves his purchase and it would take a "stupid number" for him to give it up.

In other words, don't bet on it ending up in the Hall, even if it'd take it.

As for Mark, he said he's at peace with the ball not being worth millions anymore, adding, "It dropped when Barry [Bonds] broke the record." But, the Cardinals legend did say he wouldn't mind autographing it!!

There's more ... McGwire went IN on the MLB's plan to allow a DH in the National League in 2020 -- saying he believes the role should be punted from baseball altogether.

Cleveland Cavs superstar Kevin Love is continuing his quest to raise awareness for mental health ... by donating a half a MILLION dollars to his former school's psychology department.

31-year-old Love -- who was a star for the UCLA Bruins in 2007-2008 -- has been outspoken about his battles with depression since 2018 ... and has been fighting to end the stigma against mental health disorders.

Love announced the $500,000 to UCLA on Monday ... one day after receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs.

"I hope one day we are able to erase the stigma around anxiety and depression, and we can only do that by improving diagnosis and treatment, fostering public conversations about mental health and encouraging people to seek help when they need it," Love said via Tom Withers.

Love's contribution is receiving praise from the university ... with Michelle Craske, professor in psychology, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences adding, "When heroes like Kevin come forward and share their vulnerability, it shines a light on anxiety and depression, and that helps chip away at stigma."

"I want to thank Kevin for his leadership and his courage to share his personal story with the world. He has inspired and provided hope to many."