Money

The Judge has made his ruling ... and it's GREAT news for Yankees fans.

Aaron Judge is re-signing with New York -- and, according to multiple reports, he's getting paid handsomely to do so ... agreeing to a 9-year, $360 MILLION contract.

The Yankees had been competing with the San Francisco Giants for the outfielder's services ... and for a brief period on Tuesday, they had appeared to lose the battle.

But, after seven great seasons in NY, Judge is clearly now looking to finish his career in the Bronx.

The 30-year-old reigning AL MVP is coming off the best year of his life ... hitting a staggering 62 home runs (the new AL record) while logging 131 RBI and a .311 batting average.

Judge in '22 also led the league in runs scored (133), walks (111), and slugging percentage (.686).

The huge season seemingly helped him get a wild pay bump too ... considering he reportedly turned down a $200-plus million contract from the Yanks before the year began.

Judge will now look to build on a pinstripe career that's already seen him bat .284 with 220 home runs and 497 total RBI.

Takeoff's alleged murderer, Patrick Xavier Clark, is asking a judge for money ... because he says he can't afford a private investigator, but needs one to build his defense.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Clark's asking for an initial sum of $5,000 to hire a P.I. ... adding he's financially unable to cover the costs on his own.

The docs say Clark's family has already spent all its money on his attorney who agreed to work at a reduced rate for him. He says it's necessary to add a private investigator to his defense in order to "properly investigate [Clark's] case and to prepare effectively for trial."

Clark says he's already identified a P.I. who will work on the case for the reduced rate of $85/hour.

As we reported, Houston PD announced last week Clark had been arrested and charged with the murder of the rapper. He's currently being held on a $2 million bond.

The docs say Clark will be put under house arrest if released ... and he'll be prohibited from possessing firearms or any deadly weapons, and must refrain from using marijuana or any controlled substance without a prescription.

Floyd Mayweather's spending spree didn't stop at Art Basel in Miami ... we're told the boxing legend just dropped $330K on an insane 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S!

TMZ Sports has learned Floyd hit up his longtime car guy Obi Okeke -- aka "Doctor Bugatti" -- telling him he needed a car to get around while in town ... and the Dr. delivered!

Okeke tells us Floyd wired him the money while the two were on the phone ... and even said he was interested in another sports car.

Floyd's new 640 horsepower Porsche, sometimes referred to as the "Ferrari Killer," does 0-60 MPH in 2.6 seconds. The whip has a top speed of 205 MPH!

The Porsche is just the latest addition to Mayweather's epic car collection ... which includes everything from Rolls Royces to a Koenigsegg.

Floyd is no stranger to big purchases ... TBE spent $3.1 million in about 60 minutes on expensive pieces of art at the SCOPE Art Show in Miami.

The next day, Mayweather went back and dropped an additional $1.7 million at the famed art festival ... leaving with 4 Andy Warhol pieces and a large sculpture of burned money.

Dozens of Taylor Swift fans, and one angry lawyer/Swiftee, want Ticketmaster to stand trial for allegedly screwing them outta tickets ... and right now at least, they're not interested in settling.

Attorney Jennifer Kinder filed the lawsuit last week against Ticketmaster, and she joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and explained why she's not buying the company's claim that the presale event problems were simply a supply and demand issue.

Jennifer says it really comes down to simple math, and it should have been clear to Ticketmaster things were gonna go south when it gave out way more presale codes than there were seats available for Taylor's 'Eras' tour dates.

TMZ broke the story ... the fans are alleging Ticketmaster essentially got into bed with scalpers by allowing bots to block real fans from getting tickets -- and the reason comes down to money. They claim Ticketmaster benefits financially when scalpers resell tickets.

Jennifer tells us the lawsuit's gotten the attention of disappointed Swiftees all around the country ... and she'll be adding more plaintiffs beyond the original 26 who sued.

You'll recall, chaos broke out during the November 15 presale event. Tons of fans were left in limbo, as they tried to snag tickets and most of them never lucked up. Taylor has called out Ticketmaster over the issue ... and even the Tennessee Attorney General and the Justice Department opened an investigation.

Mickey Mantle's 1952 Topps #311 card, one of the most coveted ever made, is on the block ... and the auction tells TMZ Sports the piece is estimated to sell for around $1.5 MILLION!

The rare card -- graded near mint/mint 8 by CSG -- is from Mantle's second season in the Majors and has a near-flawless surface, according to SCP Auctions, the folks auctioning the historic card.

The card was the first Mantle made by Topps (Bowman produced his rookie card) ... and the design is iconic.

The front features a large picture of Mantle in his Yankees-fitted cap with a bat resting on his shoulder ... with Mick staring off-camera.

The back features stats from Mickey's minor league career, where he spent three seasons before being called up to the big leagues. Mantle's numbers from his 1951 rookie season.

Certified Sports Guaranty (CSG) VP Andy Broome examined the Mantle up close in October, and called it more than just a card, but rather "a piece of artwork."

Mantle's career spanned 18 seasons with the Yankees. He was a 3-time MVP and 7x World Series champion.

Mantle also made 20-time All-Star teams (there used to be two ASGs a season). He also won the batting title (.353) and Triple Crown (52 HR, 130 RBI) in 1956. Mickey was one of the greatest hitters to ever hold a bat.

To get an idea of the card's value ... earlier this year, an inferior #311 (it wasn't in as good of shape) sold for $1.56 million at auction.

A 9.5 graded version sold this year for -- brace yourself -- an astonishing $12.5 million at auction.

As for SCP's #311, the auction's already live and has 9 bids ... with the high mark coming in at $536K.

Art Basel in Miami was filled with tons of memorable and thought-provoking pieces of art -- but very few stacked up to a live breast-milking display that saw bidding reach $200k.

The wild display went down over the weekend during Miami Art Week ... when contemporary artist OONA performed "MILKING THE ARTIST" with Lori Baldwin in front of a huge crowd.

The display began with the 2 artists shouting about fetishizing the female breast before OONA began to squeeze milk out of her breast. We gotta say, it appears they use a prosthetic, but the artist tells us, "They are as real as you want them to be."

After auctioning off the milk to the crowd -- and hitting a $200K bid -- the 2 were forcefully removed from the Art Basel premises.

Art Basel featured a ton of interesting displays from artists ... including a MASSIVE bowl of eggs, a textile portrait of Salt-N-Pepa, and a fully-functioning ATM that publically ranked people based on how much dough was in their bank account.

Kanye West's pockets aren't as deep as they used to be, which might explain why he was none too pleased by Milo Yiannopoulos charging him more than $100K after their media blitz together.

Sources connected to Ye tell us he and Milo never had a financial agreement for the right-wing extremist to work as an advisor. However, we've obtained an invoice, dated Dec. 1 and allegedly sent from Milo to Kanye ... for $116,000!!!

We're told because Kanye hasn't yet officially declared a run for president in 2024, everyone who has worked with him so far -- including white nationalist Nick Fuentes and far-right activist Ali Alexander -- have worked as volunteers.

Simply put ... they can't be on the payroll of a campaign that doesn't exist.

As we reported, Milo told the Daily Beast he and Kanye decided to part ways after reaching a "mutual conclusion" ... and we're told the issue of money was a big part of that conclusion.

Of course, Kanye was joined by Fuentes on "Infowars" as he spewed hate -- claiming his love for Hitler and Nazis. Milo was noticeably absent from that interview after he'd been traveling the country with Nick and Ye.

Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson's wallet is now $15,000 lighter ... and it's all 'cause he hurled his headband in disgust during a game on Saturday.

For real.

The NBA just announced the fine ... docking the 30-year-old for heaving the sweat guard into the stands just before Utah lost 116-111 to the Trail Blazers over the weekend.

Many believed Clarkson could avoid the fee -- as, after all, the headband didn't hit anybody.

Clearly, though, that didn't matter to NBA exec Joe Dumars, who handed down the punishment regardless on Monday afternoon.

The good news for Clarkson? He's made over $86 MILLION in his NBA career ... so the fine ain't going to hurt too much.

Kobe. Shaq. Hugh Hefner.

A championship ring from the Lakers 1999-2000 season, issued to the legendary Playboy founder, is on the auction block at SCP Auctions!

Hefner received the 14-karat yellow gold ring, designed to the exact specifications of the players' rings after the Lakers beat the Pacers in the NBA Finals.

The face of the ring is paved in real-brilliant cut diamonds and has the words "World Champions" and "Lakers" on it. The ring also has ten large diamonds on the front ... five appearing on each side.

The ring has Hugh's last name, "Hefner," on one side, along with the Lakers' regular season record (67-15) and playoff record (15-8) that season. There's also a large diamond in the center of a basketball with the words "Bling Bling." The year "2000" is also engraved.

The ring comes with the original Lakers presentation box -- which has "Hefner" engraved on it -- and a letter of authenticity (LOA) from Hugh's family.

Hefner, who was 91 when he died at the Playboy Mansion in 2017, regularly attended Lakers games throughout his life ... and was good friends with late Laker's owner Jerry Buss.

The Lakers title that season, which they won in large part due to the dynamic duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, was the franchise's first championship since Magic Johnson led the team to a title in 1988.

The Lakers mowed down their competition during the regular season and defeated Indiana in six games in the NBA Finals ... the first of back-to-back-to-back titles.

City Girls' JT apparently had a lovers quarrel with Lil Uzi Vert going into Thanksgiving weekend when she told her 2.6 million followers she was a single woman -- but the two have since patched things up.

The City Girl threw a huge 30th birthday party over the weekend where Uzi blessed her with a brand new set of luxury wheels!!!

The "Just Wanna Rock" rapper capped off her Miami bash by surprising his boo with a black x black Rolls-Royce Cullinan ... instantly inducing waterworks all over her face. We're told he bought the whip from RD Whittington, owner of Wires Only.

Following the double R reveal, JT trumped her previous tweet with more affectionate ones ... proclaiming Uzi to be the "g.o.a.t." boyfriend and revealed that her heart was full.

The inside of JT's party was just as lit as her lifestyle -- Yung Miami and Saucy Santana were a living rich flex and the venue was decked out with large billboards containing some of JT's most memorable lyrics.

The two are amongst hip hop's most generous power couple. JT actually blessed Uzi with a Mercedes-Benz V-Class and a BMW G 310 R Sport motorcycle for his birthday last August.

Christine McVie had some personal items of hers hit the auction block this weekend -- and in the wake of her death ... you better believe they fetched a pretty penny.

The event was held by Julien's Auctions on Saturday and Sunday in Beverly Hills, where upwards of 800 items belonging to three different Fleetwood Mac members -- including CMV -- were put up for sale to the highest bidder ... and Christine's stuff was in high demand.

Among the lots of hers up for grabs -- wardrobe that she once wore herself, not to mention Christine's very own musical instruments and stage gear ... so, yeah, rare collectables.

For starters, two different dresses of Christine's were sold ... one was the vintage maxi dress she donned for the hit album, 'Rumours,' (sold for $56,250) and her polka dot chiffon hippie dress -- which she wore to the 1976 Rock Music Awards (sold for $31,250).

There's more ... the singer's Leslie speaker and her very own mics raked in $37,500; her touring Hammond B3 organ fetched $28,125; her Yamaha electric baby grand piano sold for $22,400; and Christine's other stage-played organ went for $18,750. Nearly $200k all in all.

Other FM items were part of the auction too -- some of John McVie's belongings were also sold, such as his guitars and bass racked up practically a quarter of a million dollars on their own. Also, Mick Fleetwood's iconic wooden 'Rumours' balls snagged $128k on their own.

Pretty solid turnout, and you gotta imagine Christine's passing played a part in the interest.

As we reported ... Christine died Wednesday at the hospital after a short illness, while surrounded by loved ones. Her old bandmates sent a tribute in her honor. She was 79.

Back in 2004, Snoop Dogg was stylin’ and profilin’ in his Snoop DeVille for 50 Cent’s "P.I.M.P. Remix" video, and now you can roll just like him ... 'cause the classic whip's up for grabs!!!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to Christian Bonilla, the current owner of the car ... and he has a pretty interesting tale about how it came into his possession.

Snoop’s DeVille -- a customized 1966 Cadillac lowrider -- was virtually a family heirloom at one point and even took home the "top interior" prize at the 2006 General Motors car competition.

Christian tells us Snoop’s late roll dogg, Uncle Junebug, was especially fond of the car and loved taking it for a spin. Unfortunately, we're told Snoop blew the engine, so it was just taking up space in his car lot.

Eventually, a friend of Christian’s made Snoop an offer and shipped the car to Christian.

The car is mostly intact aside from the engine that was replaced and an audio upgrade … and we bet "Still D.R.E." sounds amazing in the speakers!!!

Christian says he’s currently fielding offers for the pimpmobile, so he doesn’t have an asking price set just yet.

Kanye West has unveiled his bigoted views to the world, yet there's still a market for Ye24 merch as he noodles on another run for president.

A quick search on eBay and Amazon reveals dozens of listings, with everything from shirts and hoodies to hats and flip-flops ... all with either Kanye's imagery or his Ye24 slogan. It's unclear exactly who's selling the stuff ... whether it's Kanye or 3rd parties. Pricing ranges from $20-30 for hats, up to $50 for hoodies and flip-flops, plus shipping.

While we've yet to see any designs of Kanye with a swastika or anything Hitler-adjacent, some merch includes Ye holding a cross, and another where he's standing next to Iron Man.

As for the resale value of Yeezy shoes, those have remained shockingly unchanged -- despite Kanye's proclamation of loving Hitler and giving props to Nazis.

Remo from Walk Like Us, a digital marketing company working with resellers, tells us one of the more popular Yeezy designs -- the 2015 Turtle Doves which retailed for $160 -- are still reselling at an average price of $793.

Aaron Carter's family members are all on the same page when it comes to the late singer's fortune ... and his mom, at least, believes this will avoid any fighting over Aaron's assets.

Jane Carter tells TMZ ... the family's wish is to have everything from his estate -- which probate docs value at $550K in real estate and personal property -- go to 1-year-old Prince, because they want to make sure the child's taken care of as he grows up.

As we previously reported, that's how things would legally work anyway, given that Aaron was unmarried and died without a will.

Jane says this isn't going to turn into a nasty legal situation ... noting she thinks Aaron would've wanted everything to go to his son, and the family doesn't need the money, anyway.

Jane says she and Aaron's siblings still haven't met Prince -- the mother of Aaron's ex-fiancée, Melanie, currently has custody. She adds, however, the fam would really like to have a relationship with Prince and Melanie.

For those unaware, Aaron's twin sister Angel filed a petition this week to serve as administrator of Aaron's estate, and Jane tells us she asked Angel to take on that role.

Madonna's MTV VMA for one of her iconic '80s hits will be sitting on a lucky -- and probably wealthy -- fan's shelf soon.

RR Auction tells TMZ ... Madonna's Moonman -- AKA MTV Video Music Award -- for her 1986 song "Papa Don't Preach" is now on the auction block with an estimated price tag of $60K.

It's a cool part of pop history ... the song was released as a single from her album "True Blue," and it became Madonna's 4th number one hit.

The track's all about dealing with teen pregnancy and abortion which, as you can imagine, stirred up plenty of controversies back then.

That also fueled buzz for the song which earned Madge 3 VMA nominations and a Grammy nom for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

If ya can't get your hands on the Madonna memorabilia, there's other cool stuff on this particular auction block -- including a Nirvana signed "In Utero" CD booklet, which is going for an estimated $12K!!!

Tom Hanks' military uniform worn on-screen in the 1994 flick "Forrest Gump" is also up for grabs in the auction, which ends December 7.

The only people more pissed than Taylor Swift at Ticketmaster are her fans -- a couple dozen of whom are now suing because they got shut out of the chaotic presale for her 'Eras' Tour.

The fans, who are from all over the country, want Ticketmaster to pay dearly for, in their estimation, allowing bots and scalpers to royally screw up the November 15 presale event. As we reported, millions of fans had to wait hours in a digital "lineup" in hopes of scoring seats -- but the vast majority of them never even got a sniff of a single ticket.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Ticketmaster was supposed to send "verified" Taylor Swift fans a code on Nov. 14, which would allow them access to the presale event -- but the angry fans say thousands of them either didn't get a code, or were sent malfunctioning codes.

In the suit, they accuse Ticketmaster of intentional deception, because the company controls the primary ticket sale market, as well as the secondary market -- aka scalpers. The fans allege Ticketmaster was "eager to allow" scalpers access to the presale ... Ticketmaster would collect additional fees every time a scalper resold a ticket.

Translation: Ticketmaster's double-dipping with scalpers, while Taylor's true fans get left nothing.

Even if you don't buy Ticketmaster intentionally cozied up to scalpers and bots -- the fans say, at the very least, the company was inept ... in that it was ill-prepared for the flood of Swifties who would try to get tickets to Taylor's first tour since the covid pandemic.

As we told you, Taylor herself called out Ticketmaster for this issue ... saying the company had reassured her and her team they could handle the volume of fans.

The fans are alleging fraud, price fixing and antitrust violations ... as they claim Ticketmaster is the only game in town when it comes to large concert venues that can accommodate artists as big as Taylor.