Money

Jake Paul is lettin' it be known he has no issue with being the "Problem Child" -- 'cause he turned his nickname into an insane diamond chain -- that's worth $225,000!!!

The YouTuber debuted the ice at his pre-fight event with Tyron Woodley on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. -- and TMZ Sports has learned it's an absolutely gaudy piece.

We're told Paul hit up his old pals at BlueMoon and Co. in Los Angeles to put the bling together ... and they pulled out all the stops for it.

In addition to the words "Prblm Child" written in diamonds on the front of the pendant ... the ice also has his full name inscribed on the back. There's also a spinning star on top.

We're told the chain is infused with 95 carats of VS quality diamonds and 14k of gold -- and in total it weighs a pound (545 grams)!

The whole thing is handmade by the company ... and we're told it's all valued at $225K.

Of course, the bling wasn't the only thing screamin' money during Paul's presser with Woodley -- JP also had a Most Valuable Boxer belt with him, which he says is worth $500K!

The Rockettes are canceling the rest of their 2021 performances because COVID is once again causing havoc in NYC.

The Radio City staple says they just can't continue their Christmas Spectacular due to "increasing challenges from the pandemic." Those challenges include a COVID outbreak among the production team, plus musicians in the orchestra ... including a swath of breakthrough cases.

The Rockettes had a big show scheduled for Friday night, but after it got the ax folks outside the venue in Midtown Manhattan were reportedly crying, and now the whole season is 86'd.

The Rockette's Christmas Spectacular is a holiday tradition in the Big Apple, where COVID cases are reaching daily highs and breaking records even though we are nearly 2 years into the pandemic.

While things seemed to be getting back to normal in the entertainment world, events are getting scrapped left and right and professional and college sports teams are dealing with outbreaks that are messing with their game schedules.

5 Seconds of Summer's new management team landed big deals worth millions, but the band fired them and stiffed the team on commission ... according to a new lawsuit.

The pop band is being sued by YMU Music, and the management company claims 5 Seconds of Summer owes them a fat check for their hard work securing lucrative deals.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, 5SOS hired YMU back in February and the management team hammered out recording and merchandising deals for the band, which led to millions of dollars in advances and other payments for the band members.

However, YMU claims once the new deals were locked in and right before the money started flowing to 5 Seconds of Summer, the band fired them in what YMU claims was an attempt to avoid ponying up some big time commissions.

In the docs, YMU claims it sent the band invoices over the last few months looking to get paid what they say were agreed-upon 15% commissions but haven't gotten paid. The management team thinks the band and other advisors believed that they could pressure YMU into giving a discount ... but instead, they now have a lawsuit on their hands.

YMU is going after 5 Seconds of Summer in court now and seeking more than $2.5 million.

Bruce Springsteen's the Boss alright ... of the IRS, because the rock legend is gonna end up saving millions in taxes every year, courtesy of his record-setting sale of his music catalog ... according to Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star gave us some insight into why Springsteen and several other huge music stars are unloading their master recordings and publishing rights to corporations -- and turns out taxes are one major motivation.

Even before Sony bucked up big time for Bruce's songs we've seen Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Shakira, Imagine Dragons and others sell their tunes in 9-digit deals ... although, only Dylan's at $300 mil comes close to Springsteen's half a BILLION.

As Daymond explains on Friday's "TMZ Live" ... obviously these celebs are already in the highest tax bracket, which means they'd be paying around 40% in federal taxes on their income from annual royalties.

Now those royalties go to whoever buys the catalog, and that's the true brilliance of these deals. You've gotta see Daymond's explanation, but basically, Bruce is about to cut his tax rate in half!!!

There are other motivators too -- such as worldwide pandemics shutting down concerts and traditional revenue streams -- but at the end of the day, Daymond says the name of the game, for Bruce and others, is securing steady income for generations to come.

Carson Wentz just made sure his O-linemen won't go hungry (or thirsty) for Christmas ... 'cause he just gave them all a grip of meat, booze and coolers ahead of the holiday!!

Colts guard, Quenton Nelson, and tackle, Matt Pryor, showed off the goodies on social media on Thursday ... revealing their quarterback dropped off the presents right in their lockers this week.

In total, the gift baskets for the big fellas included two Yeti coolers, a Yeti water bottle, bourbon and some meats from "The Wagyu Shop."

No word on the final price tag of it all, but since Wentz has made over $100 MILLION in his career, we're pretty sure none of it was cheap.

As for the guys' reaction to the presents, both Nelson and Pryor seemed pumped for the early X-mas gifts ... thanking the QB in their comments.

Jake Paul just got an incredibly expensive early Christmas gift -- a $500k championship belt decked out with a Rolex, Cartier watch and a Birkin bag attached to it!!!

The Problem Child showed off the "Most Valuable Boxer" belt at his presser with Tyron Woodley on Thursday -- saying it's a one-of-a-kind and designed by artist Alec Monopoly.

It came out lookin' like money -- literally -- the thing has two wildly valuable watches sewn into the strap of the belt on one side.

The Hermes Birkin bag -- which comes with a starting price of around $40k -- is stitched in on the other strap.

Altogether, Jake says the piece cost $500k.

"Thanks to the kind-hearted CEO of @mostvaluablepromotions for the belt," Paul said, "It’s hand-painted by one of the greatest artists of our generation."

There's more -- Jake and Tyron went at it at the presser Thursday ... with the YouTube superstar coming close to saying he was going to eat Woodley's ass.

The UFC champ added he's gonna earn the $500k knockout bonus in the fight ... and then invest it all into cryptocurrency.

Jake -- and his belt -- will be facing off against Woodley on Saturday.

Deion Sanders says Jackson State absolutely did not pay top recruit Travis Hunter to come to the school ... explaining Thursday, "We ain't got no money!"

After Prime flipped the H.S. baller from his Florida State commitment to JSU on Signing Day on Wednesday ... rumors began swirling that JSU had unloaded cash in the forms of NIL deals to get him to sign on the dotted line.

In fact, there was internet chatter that there was some kind of agreement with the nation's #1 overall recruit that involved more than $1 million.

But, Deion shot all of that down when talking with Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams on Thursday ... saying there was no money involved in getting Hunter to JSU.

"We didn't pay," Sanders said. "We ain't got no money! We ain't got no money! A million and a half? I heard a million and a half. And I heard Dave Portnoy over at Barstool -- that's the biggest lie I've ever heard."

"You know what that is?" the Tigers head coach continued. "That means we kicked your butt, we took what was ours. And now, you got to make up an excuse why."

"Ain't nobody giving out a million and a half. I wouldn't pay my son a million and a half! How am I going to coach a guy that's making more than me?!"

As for how Sanders says he actually got Hunter to flip to his program -- Prime told the guys he guaranteed Hunter that he'd play both ways, and he also said a visit to JSU for its homecoming game earlier this year was what really sealed the deal for the teenager.

Hunter is expected to suit up for JSU next fall ... and it ain't hard to see Deion is pumped to watch that all go down.

"The Boss" just proved why he's carried the nickname for so many years, negotiating one of the biggest deals in music history ... $500 million for his masters and publishing rights.

Bruce Springsteen and Sony just reached an agreement on the Springsteen catalog -- over 300 songs, 20 studio albums and other items for the half-a-billion price tag ... including albums like the 15-times platinum "Born in the U.S.A." and 5x platinum "The River."

For his entire career, the NJ singer released his music through Sony, but in the late 80s and 90s, he was given ownership of his records as an incentive to re-sign with the label.

According to Billboard, Springsteen had been in negotiations with Sony last month to make the album catalog purchase ... the deal comes a year after Universal Music Publishing brought Bob Dylan's publishing catalog for more than $300 mil.

Robert Whittaker has touched down in Tamriel -- the former UFC middleweight champion will now be a fully-voiced character in the uber-popular video game, "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim."

The Reaper -- the #1 middleweight contender who's set to fight Israel Adesanya in February -- will soon be available in the game as part of a companion mod from the creators, Bethesda.

For those who haven't played, Skyrim is an action/adventure role-playing game where the main character goes on a quest to slay a dragon -- it's got quests, ghosts, magic and all that good stuff.

Yes, we're underselling the hell out of it, but just play the game already ... It's been out for 10 freaking years.

With the new mod, Whittaker's character will now roam the area called Whiterun, where he can be spotted training young kids how to fight, according to PC Gamer.

The character looks just like the guy -- all the way down to his signature tattoo. The companion will also have combative behavior and a unique fighting style.

Whittaker getting the voiced mod treatment is pretty rare ... but the guy is a Bethesda ambassador and a big fan of the game, so it seems like that's paying off.

RW could be giving his character a spin on Thursday ... announcing he's going to play the game on a live stream to raise money for Cure Cancer and Game On Cancer.

Stephanie Matto says she's earning 6 figures just from farting into jars ... but all that gas is taking a bit of a toll on her health, both mentally and physically.

If ya thought buying NFTs was weird, the "90 Day Fiancé" star tells TMZ ... she's already banked about $100,000 from selling her jarred farts to fans, but her process almost put the artist in the hospital.

Stephanie tells us she usually sets aside 2 or 3 days a week to work on her hustle, eating foods typically associated with being gassy ... like beans and fiber bars.

While it sounds like easy money, Stephanie says she recently ate way too many fiber bars and it nearly sent her to the emergency room!!!

No rest for the flatulent though -- although fans keep clamoring for product, Stephanie says she's only going to keep her biz going as long as she feels up to it, and as long as the checks keep coming.

What's really interesting about this convo is ... she's straight-faced the whole time, even while explaining why which she puts a flower petal inside each jar. Serious stuff.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's response to Elon Musk is pretty simple -- amounting to the same thing she's been saying all along ... that the guy's gotta pony up.

We got SEW on Capitol Hill and asked if she thought the Tesla chief would start paying his fair share in taxes after the scolding she gave him online over what she perceives as him taking advantage of loopholes ... and avoiding the IRS as a result.

Liz has a list of people she's speaking on behalf of here in response to their little back-and-forth -- mentioning everyday Americans from waitresses to school teachers and everyone else in between.

In the name of those folks -- whom the senator says pay more in taxes than Musk -- she tells us there's a simple solution to get her to stop ragging on him ... and it involves the guy opening up his wallet.

There's also a call to action on Congress, it seems, because it doesn't seem like EM's gonna do all this out of the goodness of his heart -- the tax code's gotta change, and she totally advocates for that (again) here.

Killer Mike says the solutions for fixing the recent crime wave in Los Angeles are simple at face value ... but it might take some time and serious effort to actually implement.

We got the Atlanta rapper and activist Wednesday at LAX and asked him why crime is on the rise in Hollywood -- Mike says the issues are a result of failings in education, opportunities and housing.

Killer Mike says we're dealing with the brunt of 25 years of people growing up without trade skills for decent jobs and affordable places to live, and the pandemic is making things worse.

As we've reported, there's an alarming trend of home invasions, burglaries and armed robberies in affluent neighborhoods in L.A. ... with celeb victims including Dorit Kemsley, Terrence J and Clarence Avant and his wife, Jackie, who was shot and killed inside their Beverly Hills home.

Killer Mike says the tide can turn if America starts investing in these areas ... but it's going to take at least 5 years to see the results.

In the meantime, Killer Mike says people worried about home invasions and robbers should embrace the 2nd Amendment ... and he (jokingly) tells us which 5 guns he thinks every American should own.

The referee who was violently stabbed by a wrestler in the ring on Saturday actually agreed to take $75 to bleed during the match ... this according to cops.

A spokesperson for the Irving Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports ... officers spoke with the ref, Lando Deltoro, shortly after Devon Nicholson -- aka "Hannibal" -- repeatedly jammed an iron stake into his head at an independent wrestling event in Texas over the weekend.

The spokesperson says Deltoro told them he cut a deal with Nicholson prior to the match -- agreeing to dress up like a referee and then take hits to the head and gush blood in the squared circle.

The spokesperson says Deltoro told police, however, that the bit went too far ... and Nicholson actually ended up hurting him badly with the stake.

But, according to cops, Deltoro told them he did not want to press charges.

We also spoke to Deltoro on Wednesday, and he confirmed with us he was paid for the match, though he did not specify the amount. Deltoro also told us he did not agree to Nicholson's "extra" spiking.

As we previously reported, Deltoro suffered major head injuries as a result of the match, requiring sutures to close the open wounds in his head.

For his part, Nicholson says Deltoro gave him no indication during the match that he was being injured.

Cincinnati Bengals star running back Joe Mixon is giving kids an awesome surprise for the holidays ... by handing out brand new bicycles!!!

Mixon partnered with Strikes for Kids for the special event ... hooking up 28 youngins at the local Boys & Girls Club with some wheels just in time for Christmas.

TMZ Sports is told ... the kids were taken to Main Event Entertainment Center in West Chester, where they enjoyed two hours of unlimited games, pizza and Icees.

As they had tons of fun, they were surprised with new bikes and helmets ... as the 25-year-old posed for pics with them.

Of course, the kids couldn't wait to try out their new wheels ... moving around inside the event space to get in a quick ride.

Mixon spoke about his decision to help out ... saying, "This community has embraced me and become a second home for me, so to be able to give back and inspire these children is the least I can do."

Mixon's kind gesture comes on the heels of notching yet another 1,000 yard rushing season -- the third time the RB has done so in his career.

It's clear he's a difference maker for the Bengals -- on and off the field.

Kayla Harrison has a message for Julianna Pena -- "don't bite off more than you can chew"  -- after the new UFC champ said the 2x Olympic gold medalist fought in the "B-leagues."

31-year-old Harrison -- the hottest free agent in MMA -- was in the building when ATT gym mate Amanda Nunes shockingly lost her bantamweight title to Pena.

After the fight, Julianna crapped on Kayla, questioning her ability in the cage.

While talking to TMZ Sports on Tuesday, 12-0 Harrison responded ... and it's very ominous.

"I know [Julianna] must be on cloud 9 right now and I would just caution her to be careful. You don't say stuff like that to people like me unless you mean it."

The 3x PFL tourney winner later continued ... "[Pena] went out here and she executed a great game plan and she did what she had to do but I'm not the lesser of anything or anyone or anybody. When I come to fight, you're gonna know you're in a fight and be careful what you say."

At the end of the day, Kayla says the women fight in two different weight classes (JP 135, KH 155) ... so unless Pena's willing to meet in the middle, Harrison believes the trash talk is pointless.

"I think it's just dumb too, ya know? She fights at 135. I fight at, right now, 155, so unless you're willing to back it up, then don't say stuff like that. Don't open that can of worms. Don't go there. Honestly, I'd probably have to chop off my arm to make 135."

"I think that it would only take one arm to beat her."

😳😳😳😳

If you missed Pena's original comments, here's what she said about Kayla:

“I think she’s the lesser of the training partners for her and Amanda Nunes,” Pena told MMA Junkie earlier this week.

Julianna later said ... “She’s been fighting the B-leagues. I’ve been fighting in the UFC. I’ve been fighting at the top of the division. I’m fighting in the biggest league of this sport, so I’m not paying too much attention to what she’s doing down there.”

We also talked to Kayla about her feelings watching Nunes lose in person (she's "heartbroken") ... and her free agency.

Of course, Harrison's PFL contract just ended ... after again (seemingly easily) winning the $1 million prize.

The former Judo star has been in communication with the UFC ... and is presumably being courted by all the other major MMA promotions.

Kathy Hilton is finally back in front of 'RHOBH' cameras -- after holding out for more money -- getting a deal done just in time to guarantee she'll appear on season 12.

Kathy had previously refused to film anything for the franchise's new season because she felt she was being undervalued by show producers. It took several weeks, but both sides were able to come to an agreement that will see Kathy as a friend of the cast, making regular appearances on the show.

We spoke with Kathy's sister, and full-time cast member Kyle Richards last month about KH's absence as the rest of the women were seen shooting across town. Kyle told us Kathy had just been busy planning her daughter, Paris Hilton's wedding -- but our sources say the real hang-up was money.

Kathy is expected to begin filming with the Bev Hills cast just after the holidays. As we reported, production had been suspended late last week when 3 members -- Lisa Rinna, Erika Jayne and Garcelle -- tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, we're told all women were vaccinated and have had mild symptoms.

As for everyone else who tested negative -- we're told production will resume at some point this week.