NFL

Drew Brees is finally calling off the dogs on a former Saints teammate who allegedly screwed him out of $160k ... more than a year after battling the guy in court ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Brees had sued former Saints longsnapper Kevin Houser -- claiming the guy (who became a licensed security broker) duped him into buying $160k worth of tax credits from a defunct movie studio that turned out to be bogus and worthless.

Houser had fired back -- saying he NEVER had a deal to represent Brees in the transaction and says Drew simply made a stupid investment and should just take his loss like a man.

Now, we've learned ... the two sides have struck a settlement -- and though the terms are confidential, it's pretty safe to assume Houser probably had to kick over some cash.

We reached out to both sides for comment -- so far, no word back.

It's that time of the season ... the point where your Fantasy Football team is either going to rise to the top -- or plummet into the losers bracket. But worry not, Harvey Levin is here to help.

Our tiny fearless leader has teamed up with Draftkings to dish out his Fantasy Football picks of the week -- so you can save your squad!! So without further ado ... take it away Haaaaarv!

Fantasy Musts:

Tom Brady -- "I've thought pretty long and hard about this. And I gotta say ... Tom Brady is my guy. I gotta feeling he's gonna be strong after uniting with Bob Kraft over the high-five fail. People haven't high-fived me my entire life and I turned out OK."

Darren Sproles -- "He's short. I'm short. United we stand."

Fantasy Bust:

Aaron Rodgers -- "I'm worried about Aaron Rodgers because I think he gets psyched out by the media. And I think all those stories about Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson are probably messing with his mind. And the more he thinks about it, the more it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"He should be focusing on the Bears ... not Olivia Munn."

Remember, head to Draftkings to get a shot to win $10k by participating in this week's $100k Play-Action Pool. Draftkings offers 1-week fantasy football contests where you can pick a new team every week.

When it rains, it pours ... especially for Robert Griffin III -- whose character was REMOVED from a scene in Wednesday night's "South Park" episode -- and replaced with Kirk Cousins instead.

The episode -- which was basically a 30 minute attack on the Washington Redskins and the NFL -- had promoted the show by using a scene featuring RG3 earlier this week.

But when the ep aired Wednesday night, RG3 was no where to be found -- instead, the role was played by the man who replaced Griffin as the team's starting QB a few days ago ... Cousins.

Ouch.

Michael Irvin tells TMZ Sports it's been hard for him to go to work as an NFL analyst on Sundays ... because, "It's getting to the point where I'm missing church more than I'm looking forward to games."

Irvin is an analyst for the NFL Network's "NFL Gameday Morning" -- but the Hall of Famer tells us he's deeply conflicted about continuing to give his Sundays to the NFL instead of Jesus Christ.

"I texted my bishop T.D. Jakes the other day ... I said, 'Man, it's getting to the point where I'm missing church more than I'm looking forward to games on Sunday."

Irvin added, "That's been hard for me to go to work ... I miss that man."

Les Moonves isn't fretting over the blow back he got by pulling the plug on a segment featuring Rihanna for the opening of Thursday night football ... because he scored where it counts.

The CBS Prez crowed over ratings for both Thursday and Sunday night football as he left Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood Tuesday.

As for Rihanna ... the most powerful man in Hollywood said she's the one who exercised power by telling the network to go f itself.

Gronk like gun. Gronk shoot gun. Gronk raise money for charity.

Rob Gronkowski was one of several New England Patriots players who picked up a gun and blasted away on Tuesday to raise money for an ex-teammate's charity ... and TMZ Sports has the pics.

It all went down in Mapleville, RI -- where Pats players like Julian Edelman, Stevan Ridley and Nate Soldier participated in the 10th annual "Matt Light Celebrity Shoot-Out" ... which features a skeet shooting competition.

We're told the event raised more than $800k for Matt's charity -- which is dedicated to helping at-risk youth.

So who was the top shot?? Pats OL Marcus Cannon -- who our sources say is an absolute SURGEON with a shottie.

Unfortunately, Tom Brady couldn't make it ... but he hasn't been hittin' his targets lately anyway.

Question: What's black and white and red all over?
Answer: St. Louis Rams punter Johnny Hekker doing his Michael Jackson impression.

Hekker and linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar co-hosted the team's first ever Ram-Oke event at the 4 Seasons hotel in St. Louis Monday night -- benefiting their Kick Cancer initiative (nice work, fellas).

But the highlight of the event had to be when the gang dialed up Michael Jackson's "Thriller" -- and Hekker busted out the zombie dance.

Adrian Peterson says he HATED the way his parents physically disciplined him while he was growing up -- but believed it was effective ... and that's why he treats his kids the same way.

AP opened up about his childhood -- and his disdain for the way he was punished -- during a 2012 interview with Graham Bensinger ... saying:

"I feel like I just have to teach [my kids] the ropes along the way and stay on them and really be disciplined ... not to the point where they’re hating you when they’re older, like my dad did and my mom did growing up," Peterson said.

The NFL star -- who's now facing child abuse charges after beating his 4-year-old son with a tree branch -- went on to explain why even though he "hated" his parents at times, he believes their tough love instilled important values that he wants to pass on to his own children.

Former NFL star Roderick Coleman -- a former All-Pro defensive end for the Falcons -- was arrested for DUI in Georgia this weekend ... after allegedly losing control of his truck and nearly taking out a pack of motorcycle riders.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 38-year-old -- who played in the league for 9 seasons -- was taken into custody in Douglas County (outside of Atlanta) around 5 AM Sunday morning.

Witnesses tell TMZ Sports ... Coleman was attempting to make a left turn -- and overshot -- hitting a curb and losing control of his truck. We're told he skidded off the road and onto a nearby grassy area before coming to a stop.

We're told the truck came thiiiis close to hitting a group of bikers who were in town for a motorcycle convention -- but fortunately he missed.

Cops responded to the scene -- and Coleman was eventually booked for misdemeanor DUI and failing to maintain lane control. He was released after posting $3,500 bond.

Attempts to reach Coleman were unsuccessful.

Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti says Ray Rice and Ray's team are the main sources behind the ESPN article that claimed Bisciotti spearheaded a cover-up.

While addressing the media, Bisciotti says he strongly believes the sources for the ESPN "Outside the Lines" article were Ray's attorney, Ray's agent and Ray's friends -- who gave the info to ESPN in an effort to get Ray reinstated into the NFL.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is adamant ... he did NOT push to cut Ray Rice from the team after seeing the first "outside the elevator" video ... despite an ESPN report to the contrary.

The Ravens -- and Harbaugh -- have just issued a statement in response to the ESPN "Outside the Lines" article which said Harbaugh was "horrified" after seeing the 1st tape back in February and wanted Rice gone.

But now, Harbaugh says it just ain't true ... "I did not recommend cutting Ray Rice from the team after seeing the first videotape. I was very disturbed by that tape, and I told people that the facts should determine the consequences."

Ray Rice will reportedly argue that TMZ Sports edited the "inside the elevator" video ... thereby altering what really happened that night.

He's right. We did edit the video ... and we made that point crystal clear in our original post -- the same post where we also INCLUDED the raw unedited version showing Rice KOing Janay Palmer.

As we initially reported, the original raw video was jerky -- in that it would move forward and then in reverse every couple of frames ... so we removed the reverse frames.

Again, TMZ Sports included the raw video in our original post.

Former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas -- Terry Bradshaw's son-in-law -- died Saturday night after he lost control of his SUV and crashed into a line of trees.

The Metro Nashville PD says Bironas was traveling fast in his 2009 GMC Yukon Denali when he lost control in a curve shortly after 11 p.m.

Cops say the SUV veered off the road and struck a bunch of trees before it flipped over. Bironas was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Cops also say there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs. They believe Bironas was heading home ... because the accident occurred less than a mile from his house.

Rob married Terry Bradshaw's oldest daughter Rachel back in June ... and even though Bironas was no longer a Titan -- Terry jokingly told our photog before the wedding Rob still had permission to marry her.

The guy who crashed Roger Goodell's NFL news conference is apologizing for screaming "DON'T PUT ME IN THE ELEVATOR" in the middle of the event ... and it's the worst apology ever.

You know Benjy Bronk from the "Howard Stern Show" -- and at Friday's NFL news conference, he did what he always does at high-profile events ... obnoxiously heckled the speaker.

For the record, it was hilarious ... and Benjy was physically escorted out by security.

Moments later, we spoke with Bronk who told us he felt bad and wanted to apologize to Goodell himself ... though it seems less than heartfelt.

As for the hot chick standing next to him, that's Benjy's GF Elisa Jordana.

Roger Goodell says he will NOT resign as NFL Commissioner ... and believes he has the full support of the NFL owners.

Goodell addressed the media at a news conference in NYC -- and for the most part, reiterated that he screwed up in the handling of the Ray Rice case and vows to do better.

"Over the past several weeks, we have seen all to much of the NFL doing wrong, that starts with me."

Goodell believes he should stay in power because "I acknowledged my mistakes."

When asked if he felt the league supports him staying as Commish, Goodell said ... "I believe I have the support of the owners. That is clear to me."

But the best part of the event, when Benjy from the "Howard Stern Show" started yelling and screaming ... and when he was dragged away by security he yelled, "DON'T PUT ME IN THE ELEVATOR!!!"

You've seen Tom Brady's college resume -- the one he got ready in case the NFL didn't work out -- but the real question ... would T.B. have been hirable in the real world!???

Enter "Shark Tank" business guru Kevin O'Leary who was out in L.A. Thursday night -- so we had to ask ... based off his resume alone, WOULD YOU HIRE TOM BRADY?!

Keep in mind Kevin's a HUUUUGE Pats fan.

Check out the clip.