Money

Tech N9ne is feeling mighty confident his Kansas City Chiefs will take Super Bowl LVII, and he's willing to put his colors on the line in an intense wager with proud Eagles fans Gillie and Wallo!!!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to the Strange Music co-founder ahead of the big game ... and he had already landed in Glendale, AZ where he'll be assuming his team ambassador duties behind the Chiefs' bench on Sunday inside State Farm Stadium.

Tech tells us if his team's victorious on Sunday, he wants Gillie and Wallo to appear in the official music video decked out in Chiefs gear with egg on their faces!!!

If Jalen Hurts and the Eagles win ... Tech says he's willing to make the trip to Philly and do the "Dirty Bird" dance on the "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast in Eagles' colors -- but he admits he hasn't given it much thought, because he doesn't believe it'll happen!!!

Tech's "Red Kingdom" track has been the Chiefs' fight song for years ... he performed the track at halftime of last year's AFC Wild Card game, and he's anticipating hearing it blare during the game.

Johnny Depp's attorney, Camille Vasquez just scored another major legal win for a different celebrity client.

Camille and attorney Steve Cook from Brown Rudnick LLP represented "Yellowstone" star Q'orianka Kilcher in her worker's compensation insurance fraud case ... and the law firm announced Friday the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office dismissed all charges against the actress.

TMZ broke the story ... Kilcher hired Camille and Steve in September to help her win the case ... and they ultimately delivered.

Remember ... Kilcher was hit with two counts of workers' comp insurance fraud back in July, following an investigation by the California Dept. of Insurance. Officials said they found evidence the actress improperly collected over $90,000 in disability benefits.

CDOI claimed Kilcher collected the money over the course of 2 years, as a result of a neck injury she said she suffered back in 2018 during filming for "Dora and the Lost City of Gold." Officials claim she continued raking in disability benefits while filming "Yellowstone" episodes in 2019 and charged her with felonies.

Kilcher maintained her innocence, saying she suffered a serious and life-altering traumatic injury on the 'Dora' set, and Camille and Steve set out to clear her name.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... "After the charges were filed, the Workers Compensation Insurance claims adjuster retroactively changed his conclusion regarding her ability to work. We therefore determined that Ms. Kilcher did not commit insurance fraud and advised the court that we were unable to proceed."

In a statement, Kilcher says she's "beyond grateful" her case was dismissed  ... and she's thanking Camille and Steve "for their steadfast belief in my innocence." She adds, "without their advocacy, we would not be here today."

Brett Favre is dragging Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe to court ... suing the ultra-popular sports analysts after he says they made comments about him that were false and defamatory.

Favre filed the lawsuits earlier this week in Mississippi -- naming state auditor Shad White as a defendant in one of the suits as well.

The Green Bay Packers legend claims in the suits all three defamed him when talking about his alleged role in a welfare funds scandal in Mississippi.

Favre said McAfee made some of the remarks on his podcast, alleging the former NFL punter said the ex-QB was "stealing from poor people in Mississippi."

The Hall of Famer claimed Sharpe muttered defamatory comments on his FS1 show -- when he said Sharpe called Favre a "sorry mofo to steal from the lowest of the low."

As for White, Favre says the Mississippi official has "shamelessly and falsely" attacked him for months "in a brazen attempt to leverage the media attention generated by Favre's celebrity to further his own political career."

FYI, White and his office were the ones who initially discovered the alleged misuse of welfare funds, claiming over $70 million intended to go toward the needy in Miss. actually went elsewhere -- including to Favre as well as projects closely associated with the Hall of Famer.

Favre, though, has denied any wrongdoing in the case ... insisting back in September, "I have done nothing wrong."

Favre is suing the trio for unspecified damages.

A spokesman for the State Auditor's office said Thursday in response to the suits that "everything Auditor White has said about this case is true and is backed by years of audit work by the professionals at the Office of the State Auditor."

Adidas is saying it's in a serious financial pinch ... and it's blaming the bind directly on its decision to split from Kanye West.

The athletic brand gave the worrisome update Thursday, saying it's expected to lose a whopping $1.3 billion in sales in 2023 -- and the company says it's because it's unable to sell off all the Yeezy shoes and clothes it still owns.

As we reported, Adidas cut ties with Ye last year after his antisemitic comments and actions ... but the brand announced soon after dropping him that it would continue to sell Kanye's designs, just without the Yeezy name.

Based on the financial report, it doesn't seem like that's working.

The statement says it could lose another $534 mil if it pulls the plug on repurposing the remaining Yeezy stash -- CEO Bjørn Gulden adds, "The numbers speak for themselves. We are currently not performing the way we should." He says 2023 is a year of transition for the brand.

Michael Irvin filed a scathing $100 million lawsuit against the woman who accused the NFL legend of misconduct, alleging he's being "railroaded" with false accusations that are ruining his career.

The lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, was filed Thursday afternoon ... after Irvin says the hotel where he was staying concocted a plan to turn him into the next victim of "cancel culture" over something he says never happened.

"Rash and thoughtless actions can have severe consequences. Marriott [parent company of Renaissance Hotels] apparently did not appreciate these simple truths when, in a rush to judgment, its employees and management inaccurately and inflammatorily accused Mr. Irvin of misconduct to the National Football League," the lawsuit reads.

According to the lawsuit, witnesses (in the above photo) backed Irvin's initial claim that he "casually exchanged pleasantries" with the employee ("Jane Doe"), "shook her hand, and went to his room alone."

However, once Irvin and his team became aware of the allegations, they say they attempted to provide witness accounts to the hotel in an effort to rectify any misunderstanding, but they say the Renaissance refused to listen.

In fact, the lawsuit accuses the hotel manager of reporting the alleged incident to the NFL "with the intention of damaging that relationship and canceling [Irvin]."

Levi McCathern, Michael's attorney, says his client's reputation has not only been damaged, but he's also lost out on money -- canceled appearances -- as a result of the false allegations.

Irvin is seeking in excess of $100,000,000.

The Hall of Famer's attorney tells us ... "It is clear Michael is the latest victim of our cancel culture where all it takes is an accusation to ruin a person’s life. Michael looks forward to clearing his name in court and hopes the Court of public opinion will see the truth come out as well."

Of course, 56-year-old Irvin was yanked from NFL Network's Super Bowl coverage after a hotel employee complained about Michael's alleged behavior during a brief interaction Sunday night.

The specifics of the accusers allegations are still not known publicly.

Irvin, one of the most popular media personalities in sports, was set to be one of NFLN's and ESPN's faces of their Super Bowl coverage.

The signed, game-worn jersey from Kobe Bryant's 2007-08 NBA MVP season -- the only year he won the award during his career -- just sold for $5.8 million at an auction!!

Sotheby's tells TMZ Sports ... the Bryant jersey set a new record for Kobe-related sports memorabilia sold at auction, and is the second-most valuable basketball jersey to ever hit the market.

Bryant wore the jersey for 25 games in '07-'08 ... averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists while leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals for the first time since Shaquille O'Neal left.

Kobe also wore the jersey the same evening he was awarded the regular season Most Valuable Player Award on May 7, 2008 ... and during Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

"This jersey is iconic in a way we seldom see in sports artifacts," said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's Head of Streetwear and Modern Collectables.

Experts initially expected the jersey to sell for anywhere between $5-7 million.

Sotheby's recently sold LeBron James' 2013 Game 7 NBA Finals jersey for $3.7 million in January -- and Kobe's MVP season jersey is in that same rarefied air.

GloRilla's stay in the Bay Area ended in a fit of rage ... rage from fans who hurled drinks and spit at the "FNF" rapper when she exited her Oakland after party without performing.

The incident happened Wednesday night at New Karibbean City nightclub, and the video shows Glo and her team making their way to the door as drink lands smack dab on Glo's jacket, angering her and her friends.

One clubgoer yelled out, "F**k you, bitch!!" ... before someone on Glo's team cools her off with a few splashes from her glass to return the favor.

Promoter Con B of Insomnia Entertainment isn't taking responsibility for fans turning on Glo ... but tells TMZ Hip Hop he paid an exec at Glo's label CMG $30K to hear the Grammy-nominated star get lit and is expecting a full refund!!!

Sources close to the situation paint a different story, telling us Glo was never contracted to perform for that $30K -- a claim backed up by Glo's CMG boss, Yo Gotti after he got wind of the incident on Instagram!!!

We're told it was only a couple of rowdy fans upset she didn't perform -- not the entire club like the internet is projecting.

Glo is currently on tour and hit the Oakland club after her performance in San Fran earlier that night.

Scooter Braun, once known primarily as Justin Bieber's manager, is now firmly in the rap world -- his company dropped 9 figures to purchase Quality Control music label ... home of Migos.

S.B.'s HYBE America announced the huge purchase Wednesday, and the price is reportedly in the ballpark of $300 million. Some of the label's other heavy hitters include Lil Baby and City Girls.

Scooter, who also manages Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, told New York Times QC is one of the "most significant labels in the world," adding it doesn't stop at music ... "they also distribute culture. Their artists are the voices of their communities."

This marks the first huge leap the manager's made since taking the reigns as sole chief exec of HYBE America last month. FYI, the company's a division of Hybe, a South Korean entertainment firm that manages huge names like BTS.

The move was met with some heat online -- for those unaware, QC -- founded a decade ago by Pierre Thomas and Kevin 'Coach K' Lee -- has always prided itself in being a Black-owned business.

However, many don't realize Braun and Coach K have a 20 year friendship, working together in Atlanta's Hip Hop community for years. In fact, Scooter recently said of their pairing, "I’ll never forget riding around Atlanta over 20 years ago with Coach discussing our dreams and ambitions and how we said: ‘If they let us in the game, we are never going to give it back’.”

Prized 'Star Wars' memorabilia that belonged to Peter Mayhew, the actor who famously played Chewbacca, is about to go up for auction ... and unrightfully so, according to the late actor's wife.

Angie Mayhew tells TMZ ... she's very upset an auction house in the UK is selling a ton of Pete's possessions from his 'Star Wars' days, including scripts, call sheets, signed photos and more.

The collection was given to Ryedale Auctioneers by a couple who moved into Peter's old home in northern England and found the items in the attic.

The couple didn't know the memorabilia once belonged to Peter, so they unwittingly gave it all up.

Angie tells us when they were moving out of the home, Peter attempted to snag his mementos from the attic, but couldn't get inside due to serious knee issues ... and he didn't want Angie to risk injury going up there herself.

She says Peter scooped up as many items within arm's reach as he could, but had to leave the rest.

Angie says leaving the memorabilia was one of her and Peter's "biggest disappointments" in life.

On Tuesday, Peter's wife saw the items were up for auction, and immediately got honchos at the Peter Mayhew Foundation to contact the auction house. Angie says she plans to speak with the auction house Thursday.

You'll recall, the iconic 'Star Wars' actor died back in 2019. Angie is hoping to reclaim the items and put them on display in the family's "Chewy" museum in Texas.

Damar Hamlin just received an incredible honor from the NFL Players Association ... and in his speech accepting the award, he told a throng of reporters that he was thankful to God "for being here."

The NFLPA presented Hamlin with the Alan Page Community Award at a ceremony at a Super Bowl event Wednesday afternoon ... recognizing him as a player who went above and beyond to perform community service in his team city and/or hometown.

Hamlin hopped on the mic after taking the trophy -- and spoke publicly for one of the first times since he went into cardiac arrest during a game last month.

"First, I just want to say, 'Thank you,'" Hamlin said. "Just thank God for being here and thank the other guys who were nominated for the award as well who did the work in their communities alongside me as well."

Hamlin beat out four others -- Patriots DB Jonathan Jones, Commanders OL Charles Leno Jr., Raiders TE Darren Waller, and Buccaneers linebacker Devin White -- for the prestigious honor.

In his acceptance speech, Hamlin said giving back to his community "has always been a big part of who I am." He thanked his father for instilling that value in him when he was young.

Even before his medical emergency, Hamlin had found ways to inspire others in his community ... hosting toy drives constantly, and distributing gifts to children in need in Pennsylvania through his Chasing M's Foundation.

Damar actually created a GoFundMe page for his non-profit org. -- and following his health scare, it raised over $9 million.

Super Bowl commercials can no longer be contained for just the big game, and several high-profile rappers -- Diddy, Snoop Dogg and Jack Harlow to name a few -- have all been getting the bag with multi-million dollar TV spots!!!

Diddy's mogul status is the basis for his Uber Eats ad and he incorporates his Love Records, CÎROC and DeLeon Tequila imprints all in one swoop.

In the spot, the Bad Boy Records CEO looks for the perfect jingle from remixed hits ... and well-placed randomness from Montell Jordan, Donna Lewis, Kelis, Ylvis and Haddaway!!!

Not to be outdone, Snoop assumes yet another brand ambassador role with Skechers Slip-Ins alongside Martha Stewart, Howie Long and Tony Romo.

The colorful commercial loops Snoop's classic hit "Who Am I? (What’s My Name?)" as Tha Doggfather walks through his various elements ... walking red carpets, rocking concerts and cruising through L.A. on a beach cruiser!!!

Jack and Missy Elliott have been teasing a Doritos commercial (and collaboration) for weeks now and dropped new content Wednesday. It's a hypothetical look into Jack's career if he adopted the chip into his stage act ... to hilarious results.

The newest clip costars Sway Calloway and Heather B. from "Sway In The Morning" ... as well as a mic-dropping cameo from Sir Elton John.

This year, 30-second SB commercials will reportedly cost companies $7 mil a pop ... and that's before they pay the rappers' salaries!!!

If ya can't wait till Sunday, we've got more of those high priced spots.

Jake Paul is fed up with Tommy Fury -- calling out his opponent for missing another pre-fight event this week ... saying TNT is being straight-up disrespectful to the fight game at this point.

Fury was not slated to attend Wednesday's press conference in Saudi Arabia ... claiming the event could wait until he made it to town on Feb. 16.

Paul was asked about Tommy's absence minutes ago ... and he unleashed on the guy.

"I'm used to his behavior at this point," the Problem Child said. "He's unprofessional, he's a flake, he's not a serious businessman, and he's not a serious fighter."

"He's gonna have to pay for all the times he pulled out," he continued. "All the business people he screwed over. It's disrespectful. There are some of the biggest names in boxing, some of the biggest promoters in the world, some of the most influential people in the world, one of the greatest countries in the world, and he doesn't want to show up 'cause a 'private matter' -- cool. We all have private matters."

Paul also goes on to call Fury's excuses BS -- because he initially said he didn't have to prepare for the fight, but then walked back the claim and said he needed more time to train.

"It's typical Fury stuff," Paul said.

Jake also claims Tyron Woodley hit him up recently ... and admitted this is an easier fight for Paul than himself and Anderson Silva.

The jersey LeBron James wore to break the NBA's all-time scoring record is worth a fortune, according to an auction expert ... who tells TMZ Sports it could rake in over $3 MILLION if it ever hit the block.

The L.A. Lakers superstar rocked the uniform against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night ... getting the 36 points he needed in it to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark of 38,387.

Chris Ivy, the director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, tells us the James-used threads could easily fetch seven figures on the block ... especially after his Game 7 jersey from the 2013 NBA finals sold for $3.7 mil in a Sotheby's Auction a few weeks ago.

"I believe this jersey is just as historic and desirable, if not more so," Ivy tells us. "So I would estimate it at more than $3 million."

Of course, it's unclear what will ever come of the jersey -- James wasn't asked about what he'll do with it following the game.

The 38-year-old, though, did speak on the historic night following the game, calling it all "so surreal."

"This was not a goal for me," James said. "That's why it's probably so surreal and just so weird to me because I never talked about being an all-time scorer in NBA history."

'Real Housewives' star Teresa Giudice is down a set of wheels ... her Mercedes-Benz was stolen from her New Jersey estate, and now police are working to get the whip back.

Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation tell TMZ ... Teresa's luxury car was stolen overnight Monday, when intruders came onto her $3.35 million property in Montville, NJ and drove off with her Benz.

Our sources say police were called and cops are currently investigating the incident, as well as working to get the car back to the 'RHONJ' star.

As for which Mercedes was stolen, that's unclear ... Teresa has had a G-Wagon for a while, but her hubby, Luis, gifted her a white Benz sedan for Christmas in 2021 when they were still engaged.

The good news ... law enforcement already has some early leads, because we're told there is surveillance video from Teresa's home capturing the crime and the suspects on camera.

Pretty Ricky's Baby Blue is now a free man, kind of, after serving a little over a year in his PPP fraud case, and his bandmates were there to greet him upon release.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Baby Blue was released Tuesday from the Federal Correctional Institution Coleman Low in Florida.

The 38-year-old pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in August 2020, and was sentenced to 20 months in prison ... which he started serving in February 2022.

Blue was transferred to the BOP's Miami Residential Reentry Management Office, which oversees inmates transitioning back to public life. He will stay in community confinement -- either home detention or a halfway house -- until he is officially released from custody on April 4.

Upon his release, Blue was surprised by Pleasure P and Spectacular, Blue's actual brother, who both excitedly live streamed the moment as they promised to celebrate in various ways ... but Baby Blue isn't completely out of the woods yet.

Baby Blue has another 3 years of supervised release, and still has to pay $1,111,345.23 in restitution as part of his sentence.

According to court docs, he forfeited a 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia about a year ago, but that only knocked around $65K off his tab -- so he still owes well over $1 million.

Floyd Mayweather just outdid himself (and everyone else, too), dropping $1 MILLION on a BIG ass iced-out, white gold chain that weighs nearly 6 pounds!!

45-year-old Mayweather linked up with Johnny Dang -- celeb jeweler and grill king -- and while the boxing legend has a birthday coming up, we're told he was just in the mood to treat himself,

And, did he ever ... with the biggest necklace in the world (as far as JD knows).

The chain, which weighs 2.6 kilos (or 5.7 lbs.), is made of white gold and has 8,500 diamonds -- a whopping 300 ct.'s -- and costs 7 figures!

On the clasp of the Cuban link chain, in diamonds, are the letters "TMT" ... for "The Money Team".

It's not the first time Mayweather has bought ridiculously expensive pieces from Dang ... but it's absolutely the biggest chain he's ever bought.

Of course, Floyd retired from fighting professionally years ago ... but TBE's still putting on exhibition fights across the globe. In fact, Mayweather's boxing Aaron Chalmers at the O2 in London on February 25 ... and you can bet he'll go home with another big check.