NFL

Matt Suhey, the fullback who helped power the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl championship, has died.

The Bears star died over Labor Day weekend, bringing an end to the life of one of the most beloved members of Chicago's iconic championship squad, according to NBC Chicago.

Suhey spent his entire 10-year NFL career with the Bears after Chicago selected him in the second round of the 1980 NFL Draft out of Penn State. While his job was often to do the dirty work and clear paths for Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, Suhey also had a memorable moment of his own on the biggest stage.

Ryan Garcia has a word of caution for women on social media ... beware of boxers!

The WBC welterweight champ chopped it up with TMZ Sports this week at an open workout for his huge upcoming fight with Conor Benn ... and we had to ask King Ry about the biggest scandal in sports -- Daejon Love.

The fugazi Niner seemingly had no problem finding his alleged victims -- he's accused of defrauding 26 women out of $1.3 million -- but Garcia says it's even easier to pretend to be a fighter because "anybody can say they're a boxer."

Michael Irvin says it doesn't matter if San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York pays a woman to have sex with him ... because even guys who don't hook up with sex workers have to pay to get a little action!

The former NFL wide receiver defended the billionaire owner on N3on's stream recently ... saying it really shouldn't be anyone's business if a dude doles out cash to sleep with a woman.

Mike argues people are always paying for it ... whether by buying someone else's dinner, giving someone an expensive present, or whatever else -- noting all relationships have an inherently transactional component.

Aaron Rodgers is looking forward to retirement ... and says he hopes to start a family with his wife.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback opened up about his future during an interview with SiriusXM's "Mad Dog Sports Radio," saying he's hoping to be "supporting my pregnant wife" by this time next year.

Rodgers said he and his wife, publicly known as Brittani, plan to start a family after he steps away from football following the 2026 season.

"I'm looking forward to a life of quiet after 22 years in the pros and three in college," he said ... adding he's also focused on healing his body and building a family.

Aaron Donald feared his ex Jaelynn Blakey’s dog may harm their kids and rushed to court weeks before the NFL season starts, TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Aaron, who shares two minor kids with Jaelynn, requested primary custody until the dog was removed from Jaelynn’s home. The California Post was the first to report the news. 

Aaron said their kids were in immediate danger each time they were at her home and came close to the French bulldog. 

Daejon Love, the man accused of posing as a 49ers player, was apparently trying to score points with a woman by offering up his thoughts on modern dating ... telling her he prefers to focus on one person at a time.

In the alleged audio message, obtained by TMZ, Love said he had gotten off dating apps because he didn’t want to juggle “hundreds of options” ... explaining he likes to give one woman his full attention.

You can hear Love claim he had been “training to be in a relationship” and say successful men should be able to provide for their partners ... adding, “Being successful as I am, I would never want my woman to work ever."

Dianna Russini was in "clear violation" of The Athletic's newsroom standards because of her relationship with Mike Vrabel ... an internal investigation found.

The Athletic's editorial director, Mike Semel, published the findings Thursday, saying ... "Russini's relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic's standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed."

Semel went through 903 videos, 77 videos, 204 episodes of her "Scoop City" podcast -- he also interviewed her coworkers and listened to her off-platform appearances and interviews -- and says he didn't find "a clear link" that shows Russini used her position to give Vrabel a leg up.

Semel write ... "That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable."

Alphonso Smith Jr. -- a former NFL player and standout cornerback at Wake Forest University -- has died ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Sports ... the former cornerback died by suicide on Wednesday at a housing community in Florida.

Alphonso's final Facebook post highlighted his unstable emotional state before his death.

In the post, Alphonso wrote, "Do not cry for me! I tried everything in my power to fight the demons behind the ones that someone put into ME! I did not want to be that WAY! I know I have disappointed so many folks. This is a DEMON in me! But not only me! It’s EVERYONE! I have HURT so many! I needed help & did not get it!"

Tua Tagovailoa doesn't have a burner account, despite a strange comment sparking rumors that he's gassing himself up ... so says his wife, who's taking responsibility for the gaffe.

Here's the deal ... on Tuesday, photos were posted to Tua's account showing the quarterback in his new Atlanta Falcons duds -- captioned, "For the A 🫡."

The comments section was full of excited fans ... and one from Tua's account -- which reads, "We're so proud of you!! You got this ❤️."

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's dog is officially ready for her close-up ... making her modeling debut alongside the Chiefs superstar -- and now we finally know her name, too.

The couple's fluffy white Samoyed, Wendy, appears with Travis in Tommy Hilfiger's new Fall 2026 campaign that debuted Tuesday.

In one shot, Travis -- rocking a navy peacoat and white turtleneck -- kicks back on a striped lounger with Wendy perched on his leg ... while another campaign video shows the pair cuddled up on a couch.

The fake 49ers player Daejon Love may have had the cars, cash and big talk ... but one woman says his story fell apart with a simple roster check.

A woman named Cara joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" ... telling us she looked Love up early on and quickly realized his name wasn't anywhere on the San Francisco 49ers roster.

When she questioned him about it, Cara says Love fired back with a five-minute voice message breaking down NFL contracts ... claiming a thumb injury prevented him from passing the medical portion of his deal, so he couldn't appear on the official roster even though he was supposedly still with the team.

Fake 49er Daejon Love allegedly had his hand out years before his arrest ... with two women suing him over thousands in unpaid loans.

Court records obtained by TMZ show Love was sued twice in small-claims court in Sacramento County -- once in 2020 and again in 2021.

In the first case, Olivia Datu claimed Love borrowed $4,900 from her over the course of several weeks ... including $1,200 for a credit card payment and $3,700 for work on a Dodge vehicle.

The alleged fake 49ers player went all-out selling his supposed millionaire lifestyle ... and TMZ has obtained videos showing Daejon Love flashing cash, jewelry, luxury cars and what he claimed were multimillion-dollar homes.

A woman who says Love tried to scam her tells TMZ ... she met him on Facebook Dating ... and says he spent nearly two years trying to convince her he came from generational wealth and was looking for a "genetically superior" woman to start a family with.

Love's pitch eventually turned into some pricey pillow talk ... because in another video filmed from bed, he tells the woman he spoke with his financial adviser about opening an investment account for her.

Aaron Donald is officially back in the NFL ... and the Los Angeles Rams just assembled a defensive nightmare by pairing him with Myles Garrett.

Donald is coming out of retirement and rejoining the Rams on a one-year, $20 million deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The move ends months of speculation surrounding the future Hall of Famer ... and gives L.A. one helluva pass-rushing duo after the Rams landed Garrett in a blockbuster trade with Cleveland earlier this summer.

Josh Jacobs has been sidelined by the NFL amid his criminal case ... TMZ Sports has learned the league placed the Packers star running back on the Commissioner's Exempt List.

We're told by the NFL Jacobs may not practice or attend games while he's on the list.

The league tells us Jacobs can, however, be permitted at the Packers' facility on a limited basis -- with the club's permission -- for meetings, individual workouts, therapy and rehab, along with other approved non-football activities.

A 20-year-old San Diego State student says the alleged fake 49ers player tried sweeping her into an "NFL wife" lifestyle ... until she started checking his story, TMZ has learned.

The student tells TMZ ... she met Daejon Love at Cheetahs strip club in San Diego in April, where he told her he played in the NFL. She says Love kept reaching out afterward ... talking Lamborghinis, NFL training and even asking how much she paid in bills, implying he could take care of them.

TMZ has obtained exclusive video of Love from around that time ... including clips of him talking on camera and flashing the kind of lifestyle she says helped sell his NFL story.