NFL

Ever dream of seeing an NFL great go up against a UFC legend/WWE Superstar in a fight??

Consider your wish granted ... 'cause Marshawn Lynch challenged Ronda Rousey to a wrestling match on the latest episode of Fox's new celebrity reality show, "Stars On Mars" -- and by the looks of it, things got intense!!

The wild moment went down when the crew members found out they're in need of a new base commander ... and Beast Mode, the self-appointed leader of the bunch, decided he's not giving up his role without a fight. Literally.

"You know what? I'mma make this simple," the Super Bowl champ said as he made his way to an open area ... making it clear he was prepping for a throw-down.

"Yeah, I throw hands, baby," he added.

But, bad news struck for the former Seattle Seahawk ... 'cause the former UFC champ volunteered to be his opponent.

"You wanna fight for base commander? All right!!" Ronda said as she made her way to the makeshift fight arena.

So, who wins?? We won't know until the whole episode airs at 8 PM ... but some contestants were certain Ronda was gonna come out on top.

Tom Brady may just have to consider coming out of retirement after all, 'cause the dude's still got a great arm and precise accuracy ... just ask MrBeast, he can tell you all about it.

The mega-viral YouTuber recently posted a new video where he's delving into the different levels of luxury yacht life ... and at one point in his adventure, he runs into TB12 -- who, as we know, has been enjoying life on the high seas of late as he basks in his post-NFL career.

MrBeast gets Tom to agree to a challenge ... try and knock down his drone -- which is hovering in the air at eye level several yards away -- with nothing but a football toss.

Tom actually doesn't think he can do it, but then jokes ... if he gets it in one try, he might have to think about un-retiring. Welp, he's got something to mull over now -- not only did he do it, but he completed another challenge right after that was equally impressive.

Watch for yourself ... the G.O.A.T. has some gas in the tank and then some, it seems. Dude was out there doing Globetrotter trick shots from a freakin' boat -- and it's impressive.

A couple takeaways from this ... one, Tom is absolutely reveling in his retirement, which you can see in the clip.

His daughter is there for this whole drone-yacht game, and he's palling around with her throughout all of it. So, he's getting that QT he's been seeking lately.

Also, he clearly still has a competitive edge. Makes ya wonder what's really next for him. 🤔

The heated dispute between former NFL star Earl Thomas and his ex-wife three years ago did, indeed, involve a gun and a knife ... and the situation was terrifying -- new police video shows.

In the footage, obtained this week by TMZ Sports, you can see as cops responded to a disturbance at an Airbnb in Austin, Texas back on April 13, 2020 ... Thomas and his former partner, Nina Thomas, were arguing in a parking lot with weapons in their hand.

In Nina's grasp was a blade -- while in Earl's was a pistol ... and you can hear in the video, cops were desperate to get them to drop both when they arrived on the scene.

"Drop it now!" one officer said on the video while pointing his firearm at the couple. "Drop it!"

The footage shows both Thomases put their weapons down ... and then they both lay face-first on the asphalt.

Cops then slowly approached the two with their guns drawn -- imploring them to stay down.

"This is my wife," the former Baltimore Ravens safety can be heard saying in the clip. "She caught me cheating."

Added Nina, "I caught my husband cheating, officers."

"Whatever you do," one of the cops responded, "don't reach for that knife."

After a few tense moments, Nina was placed in cuffs without issue and taken to a different part of the parking lot for questioning. Earl, who was shirtless, was also put into custody without issue and moved away from Nina in the lot as well.

During ensuing questioning, Nina can be heard in the body camera video saying she and her sister-in-law had gone to the Airbnb earlier in the evening in order to confront Earl and his brother about cheating on them at the residence with other women.

"So," she said during the interview, "my husband has been leaving -- we've been having problems. He's been leaving off and on all weekend. And he said he was hanging with some buddies. And I didn't believe that, because we've had issues in the past. So I hacked his Snapchat and found his location here."

"I was calling, I was texting," she continued. "And I didn't know which room it was, and then from pictures, I recognized the lights inside. And I just so happened to turn the handle and the door was open."

Nina -- who had a cut on her hand -- also told the officers that she had brought Earl's gun to the location in order to scare him. She insisted it was not loaded while adding that she had grabbed the knife from the Airbnb during the dispute.

She said she and Earl had been involved in pushing and shoving during the altercation -- and told the cop, "My brother-in-law did get physical with my sister-in-law."

"I don't know exactly what happened because I was dealing with my own husband."

According to police documents, Nina also told cops at the scene that after she and her sister-in-law found Earl and his brother "naked in bed with other women," she pointed the gun at Earl's head, stating "that she took out the magazine thinking that the gun could not fire." But, cops said in the docs Nina was "unaware that the gun had a round in the chamber."

In the docs, officers said Earl was able to wrestle the gun away from her ... and eventually, the argument spilled out into the parking lot -- where cops intercepted them.

Nina was ultimately arrested and booked for burglary of a residence with intent to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon -- family violence. Earl was not arrested.

The former Seattle Seahawks star -- a Super Bowl champion and three-time All-Pro -- downplayed everything in a video in the days following the incident, saying, "Stuff like this happens." The two -- who were married in 2016 -- then continued to work on their relationship for several months ... before Nina filed for divorce from him later in 2020.

Broncos defensive back P.J. Locke is one helluva teammate ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned he gifted Justin Simmons some custom cleats to help the star honor his late dad.

If you weren't aware, Simmons tragically lost his father in April ... and he said he was absolutely heartbroken over the passing, writing on his social media page that the two were super close.

We're told Locke, one of Simmons' best buds on the Broncos, immediately looked for a way to cheer up the 29-year-old after hearing the devastating news ... and hit up local Denver artist Breanna Berry about possibly making some tribute spikes for Simmons.

Turns out, Berry was all-in on the idea, and got to work right away.

The cleat artist spent five hours painstakingly designing the shoes ... putting a portrait of Simmons' dad, Victor, on one of them ... while wrapping them both in Broncos blue and orange colors.

She also made sure to paint on the cleats the phrases "I love you" ... and, "Any man can be a father but it takes some special to be a dad" -- a line that Simmons wrote in his emotional Instagram post to his father in April.

The finished product came out great ... and we're told Simmons was able to get his hands on them earlier this week.

Tom Brady's feeling the need for speed and getting plenty of it in France at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ... where a ton of celebs are on hand for the action.

The legendary endurance race recruited none other than LeBron James for the honor of waving the starting flag for this year's event.

Famous racing fan, and sometimes driver, Patrick Dempsey is also there ... as is Ferrari's F1 driver Charles LeClerc. He's not driving this weekend, LeClerc's just there to support the Italian automaker, which is returning to the Le Mans grid for the first time in 50 years.

But, all eyes were on Brady before the race, because he's not just a spectator this weekend ... dude's got skin in the game.

His Brady Brand clothing line is a sponsor on the Hertz Team car. He stopped to take a bunch of selfies with fans as he walked the grid before the race went green.

Tom joked on social media, he wanted to "see what it feels like to pass someone." Speed was never his thing, but he did alright without it.

The man who turned his son into the "Baby Gronk" social media sensation wants all his critics to take a seat ... telling TMZ Sports they're just jealous because his kid's going to be set for life -- with or without football.

10-year-old Baby Gronk's rise to fame as a youth athlete has been polarizing to say the least -- some find it entertaining, while others view it as Todd Marinovich 2.0.

In fact, future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt voiced his displeasure over the Baby Gronk craze ... saying he believes "no kid should be training 'like a pro' until at least HS."

We spoke with Jake San Miguel about the negativity he's received as a result of the internet success ... and he believes anyone who has a problem with it is living in the past.

"It's a new era, it's a new generation," San Miguel tells us. "The people that are normally jealous of us is kinda older. They just don't get it. The times have changed -- Elon Musk about to move us to Mars."

"The internet is where it's at. All I did was made him a platform so if he tears an ACL or he doesn't make it in football -- which it's hard to make the NFL -- at least he has all this other money to start up a company or be a part of several companies by the time he's a senior."

Baby Gronk -- who boasts hundreds of thousands of followers -- has been trending all week ... after a TikTok showcased his meetup with massive LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, in which it hilariously claimed Livvy "rizzed up" the kid (she even hugged him).

We also spoke to Baby Gronk -- real name Madden (yes, because of John) -- and Jake about their big week ... and they both said it's just the beginning.

"The goal is to be a millionaire by senior year, with football or without football," San Miguel said.

Broncos fans are going to love this ...

Terrell Davis tells TMZ Sports Sean Payton has made such a huge impact since taking over the Denver reins this offseason ... it actually reminds him of the way Mike Shanahan turned around the team in the 1990s.

"It's different already," the former Broncos tailback said. "In terms of just the energy and the vibe around the building."

"This reminds me of Mike Shanahan when he first came to Denver," added Davis, who played for the legendary Denver coach from 1995 through 2001, winning two Super Bowls. "A lot of things that Mike did, it sounds like Sean Payton is the same type of coach."

One of the biggest positive changes Davis has noticed already with the team is the workman-like mentality the players have adopted.

He tells us he's not seeing nearly as much activity on social media from the guys  -- and it appears everyone is far more focused on winning games than they were last year, when they piled up an abysmal 5-12 record.

"They're just working," Davis said. "He's changing the culture there. He's putting his own stamp on things behind the scenes."

Davis, though, tells us he's not necessarily expecting immediate results in Year One ... explaining he's anticipating some growing pains in Payton's first season with a new franchise.

But, he is predicting a huge jump for Russell Wilson nonetheless ... telling us "this is exactly what Russ needs."

Grab tissues ... Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris just reunited with the little boy he rescued from drowning last month, getting a big hug from the 3-year-old child whose life he saved!

The special moment came two weeks after young Wyatt was rescued by Morris and fellow good samaritan, Dr. Andrew Oleksyn, after he was found blue at the bottom of the Encore hotel swimming pool in Las Vegas.

"Good Morning America" captured the reunion on video ... showing Wyatt, and his mother Kelseigh Stanley, giving Morris a huge hug.

"It's truly a miracle, truly," Stanley said.

Dr. Oleksyn -- an ER physician -- also met with Wyatt, visiting him at the hospital, and describing it as a very emotional moment.

Both Morris and Dr. Oleksyn spoke about what happened that day ... with Raheem saying he heard a parent scream and then saw Wyatt unconscious poolside.

The Rams coach continued, saying he could feel the "panic of it all," jumping into action, asking the on-duty lifeguard for the location of the automatic external defibrillator (AED), something Morris learned at a recent training with the Rams (in light of the Damar Hamlin incident).

Dr. Oleksyn performed CPR while Morris retrieved the AED ... and shortly after, Wyatt started to come back, spitting water from his lungs, and developing a pulse -- thanks to the effort of Coach Morris and Dr. Oleksyn.

Kim Zolciak knows how to promote herself, teasing a comeback to "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" on the heels of her divorce, but fans aren't gonna get the tea on her split ... TMZ has learned.

Kim shared a group pic Thursday with 'RHOA' OG cast members Sheree Whitfield, Lisa Wu and DeShawn Snow. "See you soon 🎥 @bravotv #RHOA". Of course, fans immediately began to speculate Kim was brought back on the show because of her divorce with Kroy Biermann.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us … Kim's got a cameo on the upcoming season 15 of the series, which is currently airing on Bravo. We're told Kim will appear on the show in a small capacity and when she filmed with the other ATL ladies, it was several months ago before the divorce.

Sources connected to the show tell us 'RHOA' is not currently in production and there are currently no conversations being had between Kim and producers to bring her on full-time or to cover the fallout between her and Kroy.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim and Kroy filed for divorce after 11 years and 4 kids.

As we reported, the former NFL star accused Kim of having a gambling problem and she's accused him of being a pothead who needs to take a drug test. Remember, Kroy has asked for sole physical and legal custody of their kids while Kim is asking for primary physical custody.

On top of that, the estranged couple is dealing with financial issues ... deep in the hole, owing more than $1 million to the IRS.

G.O.A.T. blood apparently runs thick in the Tom Brady family ... 'cause the greatest quarterback of all time just revealed his 15-year-old son is nearly as big as he is now!!!

The 6-foot-4 Brady shared the eyebrow-raising update in an Instagram post on Thursday afternoon ... showing Jack -- his son with Bridget Moynahan -- is only a couple inches away from Pops now.

"Not Yet Kid!!!" Brady said in a caption on the post. "I'm still here."

The 44-year-old added a bunch of laughing emojis and a few hearts as well.

Of course, while Tom still might have the height and the athleticism edge over Jack these days -- it doesn't seem like it'll be long before the teen can claim both titles from Dad.

The younger Brady is very much into sports -- he actually plays QB for his high school football team -- and he even showed he's got an arm at a Buccaneers practice late last year.

Tom, though, said in an interview with ESPN last week that he wouldn't "choose" for his son to continue down the quarterback path due to the "crazy" and "unfair" expectations that would be placed on him.

Former NFL wideout Travis Rudolph is a free man once again ... a jury just found him not guilty on all counts in his murder case.

The scene inside the courtroom Wednesday as the jury read its verdict was emotional ... Rudolph was in tears -- as were his family members.

The 27-year-old, though, eventually cracked a huge smile and shared an embrace with his lawyer. Afterward, he and his attorney thanked the jurors, the judge, the court and all others involved in the case.

"It means everything, man," the former New York Giants receiver said to reporters. "I finally got my freedom back and I can get back to my life."

Added Rudolph's attorney added, "We knew he wasn't guilty. He's one of the nicest human beings you ever met whether he plays sports or not. This is an innocent man who did what he had to do."

Rudolph was initially hit with four charges -- including one count of first-degree murder with a firearm -- back in April 2021 ... after authorities alleged he opened fire on four people inside of a car in West Palm Beach, FL, killing one, following a dispute that Rudolph had had with a woman earlier.

Rudolph, however, had adamantly claimed he was only acting in self-defense.

"I knew all along," Rudolph said Wednesday outside of the courtroom, "I did what I had to do to protect me and my brother's life."

The case went to trial last week ... and the jurors reached their verdict Wednesday afternoon after only about four hours of deliberating.

Rudolph told reporters he now has plans to resume his football career ... saying he's open to competing in any league -- not just the NFL.

"I'm going to reach out to my agent," he said, "and if God's willing, I'll still be able to play football. Definitely planning on getting back to football."

Rejoice, Bills Mafia ... Josh Allen has been officially named the Madden 24 cover athlete!!!

EA Sports just announced the news ... making Allen the first-ever ever Buffalo Bill to grace the cover of the football video game -- and the quarterback made it clear he was pumped ... showing no concerns whatsoever about a potential curse.

"A childhood dream come true," Allen tweeted ... before adding a praying hands emoji.

The cover art is pretty cool ... on one of the editions, the 27-year-old is featured bowing his head in his Bills gear. On another edition, the signal-caller can be seen partying in the endzone with Buffalo fans.

The game officially drops in August.

Of course, the announcement didn't come without criticism ... many felt Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts or even Justin Jefferson should have nabbed the honor.

In fact, Robert Griffin III said earlier this week he felt Allen's teammate, Damar Hamlin, should have been the one who graced the cover ... not the QB.

But, Madden execs were clearly thrilled with the Allen choice nonetheless -- tweeting, "Welcome to the Fam."

The feat marks yet another awesome moment for Allen this offseason -- you'll recall, he also just recently got into a romantic relationship with Hailee Steinfeld.

Lance Ball -- a former NFL running back who played for the Denver Broncos -- was arrested for domestic violence this week after allegedly strangling and assaulting someone.

The alleged incident occurred on Monday in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, about 25 miles southeast of Denver. Douglas County deputies responded to a residence for a report of "physical domestic disturbance." 37-year-old Ball was taken into custody.

Cops say the alleged victim was transported to a hospital for treatment.

According to KDVR, the incident stemmed from an argument between Ball and the alleged victim ... when he returned to the residence after golfing.

Ball was booked on charges of domestic violence, assault in the second degree, and criminal mischief.

He played in the NFL for several years after the former Maryland Terrapin went undrafted in 2008, suiting up for the Rams, Colts, Titans, and Broncos during his time in the league.

Damar Hamlin is officially back ... the Buffalo Bills safety was a full participant at practice with his teammates for the first time since going into cardiac arrest in January.

The Bills hosted OTAs on Tuesday ... and 25-year-old Hamlin got his first taste of real NFL practice action in five months.

There was a bit of a scary moment for Hamlin and the Bills ... he reportedly struggled to get back to his feet after contesting a ball during practice, needing assistance to get up.

Nevertheless, Damar returned to the workout with his teammates and resumed drills after the Bills' athletic trainers determined DH was fine.

Hamlin hit the practice field with the Bills last month ... but the former sixth-round draft pick wasn't wearing pads or a helmet during the workout, easing his way back into competition.

Damar, who won the 2022 NFL George Halas Award for his perseverance following his near-death experience, looked upbeat and energetic throughout the practice.

Marshawn Lynch has made a career change ... the ex-NFL running back is now an actor -- and on Tuesday, the sports world found out his first major part is a starring role in a teen sex comedy movie.

Seriously.

The flick is called "Bottoms" -- and while it's been announced for a while now that Lynch would have a place in the movie ... in the first look at the picture's trailer, you can see the former Seattle Seahawks star has a MAJOR part in it all.

Lynch plays a high school teacher who helps two students run a fight club ... and based on the two-minute preview, Lynch has a significant presence in the very R-rated, raunchy movie.

Lynch can be heard in the clip dropping the f-word ... and at one point, telling two students, "You created a fight club to get some c****ie. You don't even know how to work that thing!"

The 37-year-old seems very pleased by his new work on the Silver Screen ... he tweeted out the trailer, while commenting, "yo boi done made it to the big screen."

If Nikola Jokic can finish off the Miami Heat this month, he'd have a serious case to be on the Mt. Rushmore of Denver sports athletes ... so says Terrell Davis.

The Broncos legend didn't specify where exactly the Nuggets big man would rank amongst the John Elways, Patrick Roys and Todd Heltons ... but he did say a championship would put Jokic right there with the city's all-time greats.

"He's up there already," Davis told TMZ Sports, "and this would only cement his place in the greatest athletes to come out of Denver."

Davis said this title would carry some more weight than others in Denver sports history ... as it'd be their first NBA one.

"When you bring a city its only championship, you're going to be held to a really, really high place there," the former running back said. "And, I think Jokic is on his way."

Of course, Davis would know a thing or two about the matter ... he said following his first Super Bowl win with the Broncos in 1998, it changed the way fans interacted with him around the city forever.

Davis promises to keep cheering on Jokic too -- despite his incident at the Nuggets vs. Heat Game 2 on Sunday night.

If you missed it, Davis found himself in the middle of a Heat celebration sandwich near the end of the tilt -- and his disappointed reaction was priceless.

But, Davis was a good sport when recapping it all with us ... and he said there's no chance it'll deter him from coming back to Ball Arena later this series.