Money

Derek Jeter has finally sold his massive Tampa waterfront mansion -- the same place he rented to Tom Brady and Gisele -- and it's the biggest residential real estate deal in the city's history!!!

The MLB legend and his supermodel wife, Hannah Jeter, had listed the place for $29 million back in September -- and according to the realtors in charge of the deal, there was major interest in the place.

Jeter ultimately agreed to sell for roughly $22.5 million -- which the real estate company, Smith & Associates, says is the most expensive home purchase ever in Tampa Bay.

We know what you're thinking ... who bought it?!

So far, the buyer has not been revealed -- but we're told it's NOT Tom Brady and Gisele.

Our Tampa sources tell us they recently moved out of the place and are living nearby while they're building a brand new pad in the exclusive Indian Creek Island community in Miami.

As for Jeter, he bought the 22,000 square-foot estate back in 2005 -- reportedly planning to put down $2.3 million. But, after he bought it, there was a major renovation and the final product is one of the sickest properties we've ever seen.

We're talking 7 bedrooms, 8 full bathrooms plus 8 half-baths (so, 16 total toilets if you're keeping score) ... along with an 80-foot saltwater lap pool, a gym, wine cellar AND a movie theater!

There's also a 6-car garage -- and the place comes with its own private dock with 2 boat lifts!!

Smith & Associates says they did deep background searches on all interested parties before they were allowed to check out the property ... in an effort to make sure only serious buyers were allowed on site.

Jeter moved to Miami a while back -- which is why he was able to rent it to TB12 after the QB signed with the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Tom reportedly loved the place and even held some private workouts in the yard.

Amazon's desperately trying to get to the bottom of how a bunch of nooses mysteriously appeared at one of its warehouses under construction in Connecticut.

The e-commerce giant kicked in another $25k to double the $25k initially put up by developer RC Anderson LLC ... for any information about the menacing discovery on the construction site. It's now been weeks since police were first called to the Windsor, Conn. location to investigate a noose left at what will eventually be an Amazon fulfillment center.

Cops say a supervisor at the construction site spotted the "hangman's noose" dangling from a steel beam on the second floor back on April 27. Employees were informed about the incident and the company immediately held an anti-discrimination training class.

Just a couple of days later police were called back to the site when 5 more ropes "that could be interpreted as nooses" were found scattered across the facility.

Cops took the ropes and they're currently at a crime lab. The FBI is also reportedly aware of the incident but it hasn't joined the investigation yet. So far, there are no suspects and cops can't determine whether anyone at the site was specifically targeted.

Just when it appeared Antonio Brown's legal troubles were behind him ... he's now being sued again, this time for allegedly assaulting a moving truck driver, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to the lawsuit, Anton Tumanov claims he was the moving company driver that initially accused Brown in February 2020 of assaulting him during a violent encounter outside of the NFL star's mansion in Hollywood, Fla.

In the docs, Tumanov says he was hired to move some of Brown's belongings from California to Florida ... but he claims when he arrived at Brown's home on Feb. 11, the receiver snapped.

Tumanov says after a dispute over payment ... Brown and his trainer, Glenn Holt, beat the hell out of him, damaging his truck and other people's belongings in his truck in the process.

Tumanov reported the incident to police, and in his 911 call, you can hear he told dispatch he thought Brown was "high."

32-year-old Brown was eventually arrested and hit with 3 criminal charges for his alleged role in the incident ... though he later cut a deal with prosecutors in June 2020 to put the case behind him.

Brown agreed to probation and other stipulations, including community service hours and an anger management course, to have the case dropped.

According to Tumanov's suit, he's now suing Brown AND Holt for damages in excess of $30,000.

As we previously reported, Brown had appeared to have cleared up all of his legal issues in recent months, including settling a civil lawsuit with his rape accuser, Britney Taylor.

And, they're off ... bettors are already suing Bob Baffert over the Kentucky Derby, claiming he knowingly cheated and screwed gamblers out of serious cash.

Baffert has been hit with a class-action lawsuit by several gamblers who claim they had money on the Kentucky Derby ... and feel Baffert cheated them out of their winnings by running a "drugged horse."

As we previously reported, Baffert -- the most famous trainer in the history of the sport -- trained Medina Spirit, which won the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

After the race, Medina Spirit tested positive for the banned substance betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory steroid.

Officials are currently awaiting the results of a 2nd test (known as a split sample) to confirm the betamethasone -- those results are pending and should be released in the next few weeks.

Baffert has DENIED using the substance to gain a competitive advantage -- instead saying he believes it got into the horse's system through a skin medication prescribed by a veterinarian.

In other words, Bob insists it was an accident -- nothing intentional.

But, the gamblers ain't buyin' Bob's excuse ... and in a new lawsuit filed in federal court in California, they claim Bob is a serial doper who is part of a larger horseracing conspiracy.

The Plaintiffs claim there are conspiracies "between Baffert and other owners and or trainers to commit the above-described acts to engage in illegal gambling and/or horse doping through a pattern of racketeering activity."

"For example, on May 1, 2021, Defendants entered a doped horse, Medina Spirit, into the 147th running of The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky and won $1,860,000.00 as part of a horse-doping scheme in thoroughbred racing."

The gamblers in the lawsuit claim they had bet serious money on the horse that finished in 2nd place, Mandaloun -- and if not for Baffert's dirty horse, they would have won a fortune.

One plaintiff, Michael E. Beychok, says he bet nearly $1,000 on Mandaloun, which went off at 26 to 1 odds ... and if Mandaloun would have won the race, the payout would have been anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000.

Another plaintiff, Justin Wunderler, bet $2,000 "and would have provided a minimum potential payoff of at least $40,000."

"Plaintiff Wunderler’s wagers would have won, but for the illegal, drug-induced win by Medina Spirit. Thus, Plaintiff Wunderler is entitled to bring a civil action against Defendants."

There are more plaintiffs involved with similar stories ... and attorneys are actively looking for more angry bettors to join the suit.

How does one celebrate being 2020's richest athlete??

CAKE AND BALLOONS, BABY!!!

At least, that's the case for Conor McGregor ... who got a sweet surprise after earning the top spot on Forbes' annual list of the World's Highest-Paid Athletes this week!!

Conor showed off a custom cake and some gold balloons that he was gifted for raking in a reported $180 MILLION this past year ... and the UFC superstar was clearly stoked about it!

McGregor posed for pics with it all ... holding a pair of balloons that read "#1" and "PROUD OF YOU."

The cake was pretty cool too ... it featured Conor on the cover of Forbes -- with some chocolate and strawberries!!

And, yes, there were bottles of Proper 12 involved.

The only downside of it all for the 32-year-old fighter? He says he couldn't take a bite of the cake because "I am making weight" for his upcoming July fight with Dustin Poirier.

Gary Owen's estranged wife is seeking a steady flow of cash from the comedian as they head toward divorce ... and she claims he's rolling in the dough and wants a piece of the action.

Kenya Duke just filed legal docs asking for spousal support from Gary ... and she's looking for a nice chunk of change.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kenya wants $44,000 a month in spousal support ... she claims it's the amount Gary would normally deposit in her account to pay credit cards and finance her personal spending.

In the docs, Kenya says Gary left her with no choice but to request spousal support. Kenya claims she left her promising career to support Gary and his dreams. She claims their monthly income has been between $200,000 and $400,000 and never dipped below $100k, even during the pandemic.

And, get this ... in the docs, Kenya claims it's not uncommon for Gary to have $300,000 to $600,000 worth of uncashed checks from his stand-up shows just sitting around. She says he just deposits the big checks whenever he decides.

Target says it's now OUT of the sports card business -- for the foreseeable future, at least -- this just days after the extreme demand for boxes led to violence at a store near Milwaukee.

The company says it will no longer sell popular baseball, football, basketball, hockey and Pokemon cards in its establishments ... claiming it's all "out of an abundance of caution" for its employees and customers.

It all appears to be a drastic response to a fight that broke out outside of a Target store in Brookfield, WI on May 7.

Cops say several people were involved in a scuffle in the parking lot after an argument over cards ... with things escalating so quickly, FOUR people were eventually arrested over it.

Similar events have happened at Targets all over the country ... as the demand for cardboard pieces has SOARED during the pandemic.

So, Target says it's now pulling out of the game to protect everyone involved ... issuing a statement this week explaining the sales of cards will stop in-store, though they'll continue to go forward online.

Target had already implemented several rules and regulations -- including limiting the number of boxes per customer -- to try to slow down drama ... but clearly, it feels this is the next necessary step.

Of course, the trading card company has lost its mind during COVID-19 lockdowns ... rare items that were previously selling for 5 or 6 figures are now selling easily for MILLIONS.

Even just unopened small boxes of cards that Target supplied were being flipped for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Terrence Howard's hired some big legal guns to wrestle with producers of his new movie, "Triumph" ... claiming they don't have his consent to use him in the film, which has already been released -- and that's a problem.

TMZ's obtained a cease and desist letter sent by Howard's legal team to employees at Cinemark, Digital Ignition Entertainment, Argonaut Entertainment Partners and others, alleging the actor's name, image and likeness have been used in connection with the feature film without his permission.

According to the letter, signed by attorney Michael Saltz ... Howard's involvement with the movie -- which co-stars RJ Mitte of "Breaking Bad" playing a high school wrestler with cerebral palsy -- was "conditioned upon the satisfaction of material monetary and non-monetary promises made by the producers, which never happened."

Howard's attorneys claim these producers acknowledged as recently as April 15 that Howard's consent had not been obtained and "Triumph" could not come out until they got a signed release ... but the movie was theatrically released on April 30 anyway.

On top of that, Howard's heavily featured in promos for the film ... which makes sense since he plays the wrestling coach.

The letter goes on to threaten Argonaut with legal action if it continues involving Howard with "distribution, advertising, promotion, and/or exhibition of 'Triumph' in any manner" ... claiming it's a violation of his publicity rights.

Digital Ignition Entertainment tells us, "The producers made this film with a mission to help advance awareness of Cerebral Palsy and to do our part to promote inclusion in film.  We couldn’t be more proud of the job our cast and crew did to highlight the remarkable accomplishments of the writer of the film, who has Cerebral Palsy, and the lead actor of the film, RJ Mitte, who is also diagnosed with cerebral palsy."

Chrissy Teigen's not only feeling the heat from Courtney Stodden -- Target's also made a big move ... one that impacts Chrissy's bottom line.

The retail giant's website shows her "Cravings by Chrissy Teigen" line of cookware has been wiped out. Target's move appeared to come as Chrissy was owning up to her past abusive behavior -- DMing to suggest Courtney kill themself -- issuing an apology on Twitter.

However, Target sources say the line wasn't just removed from their website this week -- we're told it was yanked last month. It should be noted, Chrissy's 3 cookbooks are still available on Target's website.

You'll recall, Courtney first called out Chrissy back in March, telling us they felt Chrissy is a hypocrite for quitting Twitter over negativity on the platform.

Courtney pointed out Chrissy had, years ago, heavily bullied them on Twitter. However, it turns out it's just coincidental Target dropped Chrissy's cookware from its website the very next month.

In any event, you can still find those products in other retail outlets -- and some Target brick-and-mortar stores still have inventory too.

Forget the NFL controversy ... ya gotta watch this video of Tim Tebow giving an impassioned speech about fighting human trafficking.

Tebow has partnered up with the State of Tennessee to fight human trafficking within its borders while supporting victims who have been rescued.

Gov. Bill Lee announced the state would provide $5 million in funding to various anti-human trafficking organizations ... which includes a $1.2 million pledge to Her Song, which is a ministry of the Tim Tebow Foundation.

During Thursday's news conference, Tim credited country music superstar Luke Bryan for connecting Tebow with the governor so they could work together on fighting the issue.

But, the most compelling part of Tim's speech was when he explained why he became so passionate about fighting human trafficking, stemming from a real-life incident when he was a teenager.

"My dad was in a remote country, preaching at an underground pastor's conference," Tebow explained ... "And, where he was, there were 4 girls, not too far away, that were being sold. He took out all the money in his wallet which was $1,200 and he purchased them to rescue them because he knew whoever else was gonna buy them was not gonna do something good."

"He wasn't prepared for everything that was next but he couldn't not do something about it because this demands a response by him, by me, by you, by everything that they're doing. It demands a response. We have to respond. He responded, I'm grateful."

Tim says he's inspired by his father -- who hid the girls in a church until he could get them to safety.

Now, he feels compelled to fight for others who need help.

"Right now, there are only enough safe beds to serve 10% of trafficking victims here in the U.S. -- we can no longer let this be the case," Tebow explained ... "Not on our watch."

"My foundation and I are committed to increasing holistic survivor care across the country and around the world through our ministry, Her Song, and look forward to serving alongside the great State of Tennessee to continue pushing back this darkness."

Alex Rodriguez is finally getting into the owner's box ... he's in the final steps of closing a deal to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx for $1.5 BILLION!!

A-Rod had partnered up with former Walmart exec Marc Lore to make a run at the NBA and WNBA teams, both owned by billionaire Glen Taylor.

And, according to multiple outlets including The Athletic and Front Office Sports, the group has a deal in place to close for $1.5 billion.

There are still a few hurdles ... but nothing major.

Before it can formally close, A-Rod and M-Lore need to get approval from the other NBA owners ... but that shouldn't be a problem.

Per the terms of the deal, Lore will continue to operate the team through the 2023 season, according to F.O.S. ... and after that, it's A-Rod time!

The ex-MLB superstar made a serious run to buy the NY Mets with his then-fiancee Jennifer Lopez, but they were ultimately outbid by billionaire Steven Cohen.

Carole Baskin's stepping up to try to rescue the tiger that got loose in a Houston neighborhood last weekend ... and punish the people allegedly involved in the transfer of the exotic animal, said to be a male named India.

The 'Tiger King' star's Big Cat Rescue in Tampa is offering a $5,000 reward "to the person responsible for the immediate, safe hand over of India the Tiger to a sanctuary that is accredited by the Global Federation of Sanctuaries."

Carole tells TMZ she's very worried about the tiger's well-being considering "the owners of the tiger have shown a serious lack of responsibility so far."

Baskin stipulates that in order to get the cash reward, whoever has India and turns him in must work with law enforcement, and those efforts must be "sufficient to convict both buyer and seller involved in the transfers of the tiger."

She adds that India would not be coming to her Big Cat Rescue, but another accredited big cat sanctuary that would provide lifetime care.

As we reported ... police arrested a man named Victor Hugo Cuevas for evading police after they say he's the guy who was seen on video wrangling the tiger Sunday -- after it was nearly shot -- and later hauling it away in a white SUV.

However, Cuevas' lawyer denies his client is the tiger's owner and claims they don't know where India is ... and says Houston PD's made some false assumptions about the situation.

Victor's lawyer also stated they believe the true owner of the tiger is a man in his mid-30s, identified only as "Deandre" or "D."

Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards are such bitter enemies they're always looking for new ways to stick to each other -- such as Lisa sending her restaurant tab to Kyle's table.

So, here's the deal ... Lisa and her husband, Ken Todd, hit up the ritzy Shu Restaurant Monday in L.A. ... where Kyle also was having dinner with a 'Housewives' executive producer.

We're told Lisa and Ken sat several tables over. Lisa never went to Kyle's table to say hello ... nor did Kyle pay a visit to Lisa's table -- for obvious reasons, we think. But, the EP, who also produces "Vanderpump Rules" and 'Overserved' -- did notice Lisa and said a quick hello.

Now, get this ... when Lisa and Ken got done with dinner, we're told Lisa instructed the server to send their $132 tab over to the EP because she has a playful relationship with the producer, and jokingly felt he owed her a dinner. After all, they've made hundreds of reality TV episodes together!

The server obliged but, we're told Kyle and the exec both refused to pick up the tab. Clearly, they didn't get Lisa's joke, but not to worry ... Lisa didn't stiff the restaurant.

She tells TMZ she left a cash tip for the server and an imprint of her credit card in the event the tab wasn't picked up.

A ticket to see Tom Brady play against Bill Belichick could cost ya a small fortune ... with even nosebleed seats for TB12's return to New England already running for $1,000-plus!!!

The Tampa Bay Bucs and New England Patriots released their schedules Wednesday evening ... revealing the future Hall of Fame QB will come back to Foxboro in Week 4 on Oct. 3.

The matchup is a HUGE one -- it's already slated for the league's Sunday Night Football tilt that week -- and according to ticket experts, a seat at the game could rival Super Bowl prices.

"It could be close to $1,000 just to get into the nosebleeds upstairs," John Higgins, who owns Higs Tickets, told WBZ this week.

"It could be a record for an NFL game that’s not a Super Bowl."

Popular ticket website, TickPick, backs up Higgins' claims ... the cheapest seat available there is currently selling for over $1,400!!

And, demand is only expected to increase as the game draws closer.

Of course, demand for NFL tickets is already through the roof ... after all, most people have been locked out of stadiums since the 2019 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But still, Brady coming back to the place where he won SIX Super Bowls is historic ... and will clearly cost an arm and a leg to see in person.

Five months 'til kickoff ... better start saving now!!

Mike Tyson and his family are going to bat for 100 women who spent time in prison ... starting a charitable organization aimed at helping the former inmates reenter society.

Tyson's mother-in-law, Dr. Rita Ali -- along with Tyson and his fam -- created We 2 Matter ... designed to "empower 100 formerly incarcerated women and offer them reentry resources and support."

W2M -- who teamed up with Van Jones' prominent prison reform group, Dream Corps/Cut50 -- will provide a variety of different services to the women.

The program also aims to educate the general public on the challenges mothers face as they attempt to rejoin society.

The Tysons celebrated the We 2 Matter with a fancy Mother's Day brunch over the weekend ... inviting 10 Los Angeles-based mothers who were recently behind bars (and their kids) to Mike's Tyson Ranch in SoCal.

It's a topic that's near and dear to Mike's mother-in-law's heart. Dr. Ali was formerly convicted of a crime (she maintains her innocence) ... and says she knows how difficult it can be for a woman leaving prison.

In addition to the good work that Tyson's non-profit is doing ... the party was also pretty awesome.

Before Kobe Bryant's 33,643 points, 18 All-Star games and 5 NBA titles, he was a star high school hooper at Lower Merrion HS in Philly ... and now the jersey Mamba rocked just hit the block.

... and the auction house selling the threads believes it could sell for over $200K!!

Kobe was an absolute stud in high school in the mid-'90s ... playing varsity as a freshman, and winning just about every award for a high schooler as a senior -- including the Naismith and Gatorade player of the year awards, as well as earning a spot on the coveted McDonald's All-American team.

It's unclear which games Bryant actually wore the white and maroon, size 44 jersey.

Of course, Bryant -- who had offers from Duke and a bunch of other top schools -- followed Kevin Garnett's lead and made the jump from HS to the NBA.

Kobe was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft ... before being traded to the Lakers.

So, who's selling this piece of basketball treasure?? Leland Auctions -- the auction house behind the sale -- says the consignor is actually a former NBA player who got the jersey from Kobe's former sports agent.

We're told the player wishes to remain anonymous.

The jersey is currently on the auction block ... and the minimum bid is $50K.

The auction ends at the beginning of June.