Money

Justin Bieber's on cloud 9 right now, and letting everyone know he was able to snag a pair of Kanye West's sold-out new shoes.

The Biebs showed off his Yeezy 450 in Cloud Whites while running errands Tuesday in Beverly Hills. The kicks are pretty easy to spot, what with the unique profile and all.

Of course, the shoes were pretty much impossible to get your hands on ... as we reported, Kanye's latest offering sold out Saturday in a matter of seconds during a mad scramble on the Adidas app and YeezySupply.com, with most folks walking away empty-handed.

Justin has the best sneaker hookup -- likely getting 'em straight from the source.

Remember, JB and Kanye are super tight these days. Ye even hosted Justin and Hailey at his Wyoming ranch when the couple was tooling around in an RV.

The Yeezy 450 in Cloud Whites retail for $200 and folks are reselling them for around $500.

Thomas Markle says his daughter's mental health struggles were partly her fault, because she chose to ghost the family that could have helped her -- her own family.

Markle appeared Tuesday on "Good Morning Britain" and responded to Meghan's harsh comments about him during the Oprah interview ... in particular his decision to work with the tabloids as a roll-up to her wedding.

Thomas says he's apologized for that over and over, and then went on the offensive ... saying Meghan's psychological problems and loneliness could have been averted if she would have reached out to her family instead of shutting them out of her life.

Thomas took direct aim at Harry, saying he was heartless to him before the wedding as he lay in a hospital bed after suffering a heart attack. He says he had a conversation with Harry -- this was after Harry learned Thomas was dealing with the British tabloids -- and said, "If you had listened to me this wouldn't have happened to you." Thomas said he was so angry at Harry's "snotty" comment he hung up on him ... and that was their last conversation.

A few more items. Thomas said yeah, he's made mistakes, but he's never played naked pool or dressed up like Hitler ... referring, of course, to Harry.

Rob Gronkowski's gettin' in on the EXPLODING digital sports memorabilia market ... the NFL superstar is releasing his own limited edition, virtual trading cards.

TMZ Sports talked to 31-year-old Gronk ... and the 4x Super Bowl champ broke the news on his new side hustle.

RG -- with biz partners Adam Richman and Joe Silberzweig -- linked up with artist Black Madre, Gronk's good friend ... and created 5 (very limited) trading cards.

But, no cardboard here -- the cards are part of a digital collection Rob's calling his Championship Series NFT Collection.

NFT stands for non-fungible token -- essentially a digital card that can't be duplicated -- and Gronk believes they're the future of the trading card world.

"I think having digital trading cards now is just gonna be unique and it's gonna blow it out of the water. Actual trading cards, I think will always be there, but I think it's leading towards a way where everything's digital."

Trading cards (and all sports memorabilia) have blown up over the last few years. In fact, a 1996-97 Topps Chrome Refractors Kobe Bryant rookie card just sold for $1.8 million.

Rob -- starting Thursday at 7 PM ET on crypto marketplace, OpenSea.io -- is dropping 5 cards featuring original, hand-drawn artwork ... celebrating his Super Bowl XLIX, LI, LIII, and LV championships.

Each SB card comes in only 87 editions (Rob's jersey #) ... with the exception of the 5th card -- the holy grail -- a Career Highlight Refractor Card signed by Gronk.

If that wasn't cool enough ... the winner of that card will have an opportunity to go to a Bucs game next season and meet Gronk, in-person.

HBO Max subscribers looking for some family fun were instead treated to an early look at Zack Snyder's "Justice League" ... with the streaming service leaking the film 10 days early.

Here's the deal ... folks who wanted to watch the PG-rated "Tom and Jerry" movie Monday on HBO Max were, instead, greeted with the R-rated "Justice League" thanks to a glitch on the streaming service.

HBO Max confirmed the accidental leak, saying the movie was "temporarily available" and "the error was addressed within minutes."

It appears a decent number of folks were able to catch a sneak peek of the highly-anticipated film ... including several Twitter users, who were quick to rub it in and crack jokes about staffers getting fired.

While HBO Max says the error was fixed "within minutes," some people say they were able to watch about an hour of the film before the feed was cut.

Snyder's version of the 2017 flick isn't set for an official release until March 18 ... so this is a pretty big oops.

The NFL's biggest offseason storyline finally has an ending ... Dak Prescott has reached a long-term contract agreement with the Dallas Cowboys -- and dude just got PAAAAAIIIDDD!!!

The 27-year-old superstar has agreed to a 4-year, $160 MILLION deal with Dallas ... and, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it includes a league-record of $126 million guaranteed.

Schefter also reports Prescott will make $42 million per season in the first 3 years of the deal ... and could make a total of $164 million with incentives.

Prescott's signing bonus is $66 million and he has a no-trade clause in the deal, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport added.

The money is huge and it's sure to create salary cap drama for Dallas ... but it's still welcome news for the Cowboys and their fans regardless.

Dak and Dallas tried to get a deal done all last offseason ... but couldn't make it happen -- reportedly quarreling over the length of the prospective contract.

Prescott played on the franchise tag last season ... and it seemed the two sides were possibly headed for yet another franchise tag season this year after negotiations still dragged on the last few months.

One person is so confident Josh Allen's breakout season was not a fluke ... they just invested nearly a quarter of a million dollars into the Bills star's rarest rookie card!!

The guys at Goldin Auctions say a 1-of-1, signed Allen piece just sold for $210,330 ... a staggering number (the highest price tag ever for an Allen card) considering the QB has only made 1 Pro Bowl in his first three years in the league.

But, the gamble could pay off ... Josh's growth in year 3 in the NFL was so big, he has the potential to be a future MVP -- which could make the card explode in value.

The piece is perhaps the most unique Allen rookie card ever created -- it features an NFL logo jersey patch as well Josh's signature in bold, blue ink.

The card has a MINT 9 grading, while the autograph has been given a perfect 10 grading by Beckett. The back of the card Topps card certifies the whole 1-of-1 package is the real deal.

Of course, if Allen regresses in year 4 in Buffalo ... it could be a tough loss.

The Naked Cowboy, famous for performing in Times Square, got busted way down in Florida for his same old schtick ... and cops say his trusty guitar broke when he resisted arrest.

Robert Burck, the nearly naked man behind the Naked Cowboy character, was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence in Daytona Beach, where police also cited him for aggressive panhandling.

The Naked Cowboy was in town for Bike Week ... and cops say he was in his familiar getup -- white briefs, guitar and a cowboy hat -- when he was taking pictures with folks on the street in exchange for cash.

Police say a huge crowd formed around the Naked Cowboy as he hovered near a business on Main Street, so an officer cited him for panhandling. Cops say he refused to follow orders and when he resisted arrest while up against a patrol car the headstock of his guitar broke.

A signed ticket from Kobe Bryant’s epic last NBA game ever -- when Mamba dropped 60 points -- just sold for over $40K at auction!!

The April 13, 2016 game will never be forgotten ... Bryant had one of the greatest final performances in sports history.

Then 37-year-old Mamba single-handedly delivered his Los Angeles Lakers team to victory over the Utah Jazz -- scoring 15 of the team's final 17 points.

Kobe -- who knocked down big shot after big shot -- finished the game with 60 points ... capping off his 20-year, Hall of Fame career.

A ticket from the game (section 302, Row 2W, Seat 2) was on the auction block at Goldin Auctions ... and after 42 bids, it ultimately sold for $40,590.

The identity of the buyer is not known.

What's interesting ... the Staples Center attendance for Kobe's last game was listed at 18,997. Now, all those tickets obviously weren't adorned with Kobe's signature.

Michael Jordan’s signed, game-worn Air Jordan 1’s are on the auction block ... but the coolest part about the kicks is the backstory -- ‘cause MJ used the J’s to recruit an H.S. hooper to UNC.

According to MEARS Auctions -- the peeps behind the sale -- there was a grandma in the mid-1980s who had a grandson who could ball his ass off.

He was one of the best players in the nation, and tons of schools -- including Jordan's alma mater, the University of North Carolina -- pulled out all the stops while recruiting him.

Legendary UNC coach Dean Smith personally visited grandma -- who was very tight with her grandson -- and he didn't hesitate to use his secret weapon ... Michael Jordan.

Of course, Jordan was a superstar at UNC. In 1981, he was the ACC Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, he hit the NCAA Tournament-winning shot against Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown squad.

MJ left Chapel Hill after his junior year ... and was the 3rd overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft (s/o Sam Bowie 😬).

Coach Smith arranged a meeting between granny and MJ ... and in early 1985, she traveled to Chi-town for a Bulls game.

After the game, grandma was escorted to a private area of Chicago Stadium ... where Jordan -- still in his white and red uniform -- approached her.

Michael pitched grandma on the awesomeness of UNC ... passionately explaining why her grandson should play in Chapel Hill.

Before MJ bounced, he removed his Air Jordan 1's -- left shoe size 13, right size 13.5 -- signed both sneakers, and gave them to grandma.

Now, the AJ 1 ain't just any old shoe ... it's one of the most iconic ever created, and is credited in part with giving birth to sneaker culture.

Grandma held on to the kicks for 35 years ... before passing away. The sneakers were then gifted to an unknown person -- who put them on the block at MEARS.

Unfortunately, the consignor does not want the identity of the player revealed ... but we do know that MJ's hard sell did NOT work.

The grandson ultimately decided to play ball at another university.

Now you can own the historic pair of J's -- with the crazyyy backstory -- if ya have the money.

Auction ends this Saturday ... best of luck!!

MacKenzie Scott has a new husband -- a teacher at her kids' school -- and while marrying the ex-Mrs. Jeff Bezos means the guy's suddenly mega-wealthy ... he's already giving it all away.

MacKenzie and Dan Jewett went public with their marriage over the weekend. Dan teaches science at Seattle Lakeside school ... the elite private institution Jeff and MacKenzie's 4 kids have attended.

Sounds like Dan and Jeff might have met at PTA meetings over the years -- Bezos released a statement, saying ... "Dan is such a great guy, and I am happy and excited for both of them."

It's unclear exactly when MacKenzie -- who's reportedly worth about $53 billion -- tied the knot, but on Saturday Dan posted a message on The Giving Pledge website and promised to give away his wealth ... just like his new wife.

Dan wrote about his own passion for giving, and added, "And now, in a stroke of happy coincidence, I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know, and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others."

Tessica Brown tried getting out of another sticky situation by crowdfunding ... or at least that's what an imposter had people believing before GoFundMe dropped the hammer.

So get this ... someone tried to capitalize on Tessica's Gorilla Glue fame and misfortune by posting a GoFundMe page pretending to be her. The imposter even posted what appears to be a $186k hospital bill.

As you can see, the imposter claimed the hospital was charging her for her medical bills after it found out she was raising money online. This person even roped in Tessica's real GoFundMe dilemma ... ya know, the alleged fraud claims that were later debunked.

The imposter's "bill" looked legit enough to dupe some peeps, 'cause the account raised around $500.

Don't worry, the imposter never got the dough because a rep for GoFundMe tells TMZ it suspended the account as soon as it got wind of it.

The fake account was sketchy to begin with ... 'cause the imposter's goal was only $25k but the bill totaled nearly $200k.

Jack Dorsey is hawking the very first tweet ever -- being his, of course -- to anybody who wants exclusive digital rights ... and people are already willing to pay millions for it.

The Twitter CEO posted a link Saturday to a site called Valuables By Cent, where folks can buy/sell authenticated tweets with their autograph. Jack, too, was putting a tweet up for auction ... his own from 2006, when he wrote ... "just setting up my twttr." It's the tweet that kicked off every other tweet thereafter, so it's historic -- and the bids bear that out.

At the moment, the highest offer for ownership of his tweet sits at $2.5 MILLION -- courtesy of Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi ... who's been in a bidding war of sorts with another tech entrepreneur in the crypto world, Justin Sun, who was upping his price exponentially.

Sun seems to have started at $500k, and then incrementally upped it to $2 mil, but it looks like Estavi swooped in with $500k more ... there haven't been any further offers since. Per Cent's rules, if anyone wants to outbid Estavi -- they'll have to throw down $2.75 million.

If Jack's tweet sells at this amount ... it would follow suit with tons of other online transactions that have flown off virtual shelves at eye-popping values among influencers, artists and sports leagues, like the NBA ... which has been dabbling in this for a couple of years.

For instance, you can actually buy NBA highlight reels and awesome moments from games through NBA Top Shot ... which tends to sell these "moments" in packs. Some of the more elite highlights -- like some of LeBron's and Zion's -- have sold for upwards of $200k!

Might sound nutty, but selling digital assets like this is a thing ... which they call NFTs (non-fungible tokens). They're essentially one-of-a-kind collector's items that are recorded on a blockchain network -- the same system that supports and tracks crypto -- and which aren't interchangeable, unlike something like Bitcoin, which can be swapped back and forth.

Kanye West has still got the Midas touch when it comes to kicks, because his new offering from Adidas sold out in ONE MINUTE!!!

The Yeezy 450 in Cloud Whites flew off the virtual shelves, shutting down critics who thought the weird silhouette was off-putting.

There was a mad scramble on the Adidas app and YeezySupply.com, with lots of fans walking away from their computers empty-handed. They were clearly not quick on the draw, and you know what they say about snoozin' ...

To be specific ... the shoes became available Saturday at 7 AM ... if you were later than 7:01 you'd be SOL.

As for pricing ... the shoes retail for $200, but some of the folks who snagged them are asking north of $500.

I do not like green eggs and ham ...

And, your reading is a sham, Kevin I am.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy appeared clueless as he read Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" out loud ... presumably in protest of the decision to yank 6 of the famed author's books because of racist images.

McCarthy apparently wasn't down with the decision, but his choice of books to read in defiance misses the point. Fact is ... "Green Eggs and Ham" was NOT pulled. The books that were pulled ... "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street," "If I Ran the Zoo," "McElligot's Pool," "On Beyond Zebra!," "Scrambled Eggs Super!" and "The Cat's Quizzer."

What's more ... Congress is debating a pretty important bill -- getting stimulus checks to suffering Americans, and here sits McCarthy reading Dr. Seuss.

The Kardashians are all about expanding their business empire ... and now it looks like they want to tap into the greeting cards biz.

Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Kris filed trademark docs to lock up the rights to a name for their potential new revenue stream ... "Kardashian Kards." Ah, it just rolls off the tongue.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the Kardashians are looking to use their famous family name to sell greeting cards, calendars, decals, photo albums and postcards.

The docs make it look like they also might slap "Kardashian Kards" on scrapbooks, stationery, paper, notebooks, stickers, erasers, bookmarks and gift wrap.

UFC star Aljamain Sterling is finally getting his title shot this weekend -- and he's predicting a 2nd round victory over the champ, Petr Yan.

But, it's bigger than just a belt for Sterling who tells TMZ Sports becoming the first Jamaican champion could be huge for the island nation.

31-year-old Sterling was born and raised in New York -- but both of his parents are from Jamaica and he feels a strong sense of American and Jamaican pride.

But, the fact is ... no UFC fighter of Jamaican descent has ever held a UFC belt and Sterling says he's looking to make history when he steps into the octagon against bantamweight champ Petr Yan on March 6 at UFC 259.

"I think he's the real deal," Sterling says ... "He's a tough guy, he did what he had to do with all the guys that they put in front of him so I gotta pay him respect for that but at the end of the day, this is my time! This my time to put on a show."

Sterling -- who's 19-3 and on a 5-fight win streak -- says he's confident his grappling game will simply be too much for Yan to handle ... culminating in a 2nd round TKO.

And, if Sterling's prediction comes true, Alja believes a Jamaican champion could inspire a whole new generation of MMA fighters.

"It would be a catalyst for the entire country to really get the sport picked up and get it rockin' and rollin'."

Sterling says he's working on plans to spread the sport to the masses in Jamaica -- with the goal of keeping the cost of entry down.