NFL

Beyonce -- last year's Super Bowl performer -- surprised the crowd at Jay Z's concert last night in New York ... when she hit the stage to jam out with her husband on their latest song.

The whole thing went down at DirectTV's "Super Saturday Night" party on the eve of the big game -- and last year's halftime entertainer pulled off the surprise performance without a hitch.

The halftime show this year will be put on by Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Lindsay Lohan has FOUND her precious fur coat ... and it's all because of a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

We broke the story ... Lindsay claimed her $75,000 fur went missing at 1 OAK early Thursday morning.

Turns out ... it was a 2-piece fur and Lindsay claims she left one piece in the club. 1 OAK reportedly said Lindsay was full of it and did not lose anything inside their club.

But now Lindsay says she got the coat back, thanks to Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice, who was at Lindsay's table.

We're told after Lindsay left the club, Rice noticed she had left the garment behind and took it home for safe keeping. He contacted Lindsay the next day and her people picked it up.

This is AWESOME ... TMZ Sports has obtained a highlight reel of some of Marshawn Lynch's most impressive high school football plays ... and it was obvious back then he was destined for greatness.

Lynch -- who graduated from Oakland Tech HS in CA back in 2003 -- was one of the top recruits in the country back in the day. Oh, he also racked up 20 interceptions on defense.

Warren Sapp better get on his knees and PRAY for Peyton Manning to have the game of his life, 'cause the guy who declared BANKRUPTCY in 2012 just made a $100,000 bet with Rick Ross that the Broncos will win the Super Bowl ... and TMZ Sports has the video proof.

It all went down at the Hudson Hotel in NYC ... when the Hall of Famer made the bet with Rick in front of a ton of people. They also tweeted about the wager, so neither side can try to Aaron Rodgers their way out of this one.

As for the $100k wager -- it's PRETTY DAMN SHOCKING considering Warren has serious financial issues. It was just back in 2012 that he filed for BANKRUPTCY ... and due to his brokeness, Warren's giant collection of Nike shoes were auctioned off in Sept. 2013.

As for Rick, the guy just bought the biggest house in Georgia ... so, we're guessing he can afford it.

Maybe Sapp knows a little something about the game that we don't.

Stay tuned ...

He may have moved on to a better QB ... a much, much better QB ... but Demayrius Thomas tells TMZ Sports he still keeps in touch with his old quarterback Tim Tebow.

Of course, Thomas was on the receiving end of the greatest play in Tim's career -- when he took a Tebow pass 80 YARDS on the first play in overtime to lead Denver over the Steelers in a 2012 playoff game.

"It was a great moment at the time," Thomas says ... "It's a new year and I have a new team now, but me and Tim do keep in touch."

"It's not like we don't speak anymore because he's not a Bronco."

As for the big game, D.T. says he's preparing with a solid pre-game dinner -- pasta with meat sauce and ground turkey.

And now you know.

Bad news for anyone hoping to make a bet with a guy who doesn't pay up ... 'cause Aaron Rodgers says his days of making friendly wagers on football games are officially OVER.

The Green Bay Packers QB was leaving Benjamin Steak House in NYC (he likes his steak "medium" btw) ... when we asked him if was planning to take any "friendly" action on the Super Bowl.

You know ... like the jersey bet he made with the guys from Boyz II Men last season (Aaron lost the best but refused to wear a 49ers jersey, as he had agreed to do ... cluck cluck cluck).

But last night, Aaron shut down the idea of making any more bets on football EVER AGAIN.

Fun Fact: In the NFL, it's perfectly LEGAL to tackle an opposing player by the hair if it's hanging out of the helmet.

Funner Fact: Players who pull hair deserve to get their ASSES KICKED because they've made things "personal" ... so says LaVar Arrington.

The former NFL defensive stud -- who has some luscious dreadlocks of his own -- says there's an unspoken code among players regarding the "mane" ... and violators NEED to be dealt with.

Of course, Arrington must REALLY hate guys like Jason Babin (JAX) ... who ripped Andre Ellington's (ARIZ) dreadlocks out of his skull during a game earlier this season ... and then displayed it to the crowd like a trophy.

No, LaVar doesn't like that one bit ...

We've never seen Kate Upton do a dance we didn't instantly love -- but her attempt to pull off a Super Bowl TD celebration actually sparked a debate.

Love it or hate it ... we all agree it's fun to watch her try it.

Seattle Seahawks legend Walter Jones just SLASHED the asking price for his Alabama mansion ... and it's the perfect spot for a serious fan looking to play more than just fantasy football.

The 9-time Pro Bowler bought the 8 bed, 9 bath, 13,450 square foot pad back in 2005 ... and first tried selling the place for $3.5 million back in 2011 -- but now he's knocked half a mil of the price.

The house is an athlete's dream palace -- there's a full football field (with NFL sized FG posts) ... a basketball court, tennis court, swimming pool, workout room ... and a detached "sports house."

Non-sports nuts will have to settle for a home movie theater, game room, spa-bath ... and an ELEVATOR.

Jones is considered a shoe-in when the new Hall of Fame inductees are announced tomorrow ... so the 'bama spread could be a legit piece of NFL history.

Maurice Jones Drew is winning the battle of the bulge ... 'cause the Jacksonville Jaguars running back tells TMZ Sports he's dropped 15 POUNDS in the past 2 weeks ... and plans to keep it off.

A slimmer, trimmer MJD was out in NYC last night ... and told us why he deserves to be back in the running for top fantasy football RB next season -- and a lot of it has to do with this physique.

Maurice acknowledged that his 2013 season rubbed a lot of fantasy owners the wrong way ... but says, "It's a brand new off-season. Started working out ... I've lost 15 pounds in the last 2 weeks."

You can already see the difference -- it was just last May that MJD was out partying in Florida while smuggling what appeared to be a spare tire under his tank top.

Take THAT, Jenny Craig!

Drew Brees tells TMZ Sports ... he's COMMITTED to the famous birthmark on his face and has no plans to remove it ... EVER ... unless doctors tell him it poses a threat to his health.

This video is AWESOME ... Brees was at a NYC event for the Super Service Challenge -- an organization that encourages people to do positive things in their communities -- when he opened up about all sorts of stuff.

Besides the mole talk, Brees (who's from Texas) set the record straight about which movie more accurately portrayed his high school football experience in the Lone Star State -- "Varsity Blues" or "Friday Night Lights."

His explanation actually makes a lot of sense.

As for the Super Service Challenge -- Drew also tells us why he believes the organization is so important to him and his organization, The Brees Dream Foundation.

Ray Rice is no dummy ... telling TMZ Sports he's GOING BACK TO COLLEGE so he can finally get his degree.

The Baltimore Ravens running back was out in NYC last night when he revealed that he recently enrolled in online classes at Rutgers University in an effort to lock up his diploma.

The 27-year-old admits he's still a long way from donning the cap and gown ... but says he's determined to finish what he started back in 2005.

We've learned ... Rice is currently taking 4 courses:

-- Intro to Logic
-- Public Speaking
-- Employment Law
-- Diversity at work

Like a commuter trying to cross the George Washington Bridge, Chris Christie's attempt at comedy last night came to a grinding halt at the Roast of Boomer Esiason in NYC.

The Gov. took the stage at the legendary Friars Club to roast the former NFL star and quickly learned the first lesson of comedy -- don't do it unless you're actually funny.

Among the lowlights ...

-- "When I was approached about doing to this event, I said yes right away. I said listen, 'I''ll do anything for Super Bowl winning quarterback Boomer Esiason' ... and then i said, ya know, he didnt win that game did he? That was Joe Montana that won that game." [Boomer looks at his watch].

-- "Look at this dais ... I mean Robert Wuhl, seriously? I mean at this point, Robert will show up for anything."

-- "I mean I've seen bigger stars after bumping my head."

-- "What happened? Were Screech and the dog from Frasier busy today?"

And the Joke de la Resistance ... Christie PRETENDED like he was going to announce his candidacy for President of the United States ... but then, CURVEBALL!!!

"NFL Today" host James Brown says George Zimmerman would never agree to fight him ... insinuating Zimmerman would be too scared.

We got James last night in NYC ... and asked him if he'd be willing to fight GZ ... who's offered to take on any opponent -- black or otherwise -- in a celebrity boxing match.

With a federal investigation underway into allegations the Oakland Raiders grossly underpaid their cheerleaders ... the Raiderettes are finally getting a shot at a fair income .... thanks to Penthouse.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the legendary nudie mag has reached out to the squad in the hopes of hiring some of the women for a "tasteful pictorial in the magazine."

As we previously reported, one of the Raiderettes has already filed a lawsuit against the team claiming she made less than $5-per-hour ... way less than the state mandated minimum wage. And the U.S. Dept. of Labor is investigating the team.

Sources connected to the situation tell us ... Penthouse is prepared to make a "significant offer" to the women if they're interested in showing a little skin. We're told the mag isn't pushing for full nudity.

In a letter sent to the team squad, Penthouse says ... "You can even wear your silver and black ... or not."

So far, unclear if any of the Raiderettes are game.

The winner of Super Bowl XLVIII is NOT allowed to party with champagne ... or beer ... or any other form of alcohol ... so says the NFL.

TMZ Sports has learned ... unlike the MLB (or any other major sport), the NFL has a very strict policy against booze in the locker room ... which means, NO POPPIN' BOTTLES!!

A rep for the league tells us ... the rule goes all the way back to the 1960s and the NFL has decided to continue to enforce it because it's "not the right image" for the league.