Football

Josh Allen's shining bright on the field and off of it these days ... as TMZ Sports has learned the new MVP chain he was gifted this week is absolutely loaded with gold and diamonds!!

Dion Dawkins and the rest of the Buffalo Bills offensive line doled out their Christmas present to their star quarterback earlier this week ... and Gabriel Jacobs of Rafaello and Co. -- the jeweler who made the piece -- explained to us the thing really is one of a kind.

Jacobs told us it's dripping in 14-karat white gold ... and has approximately 27 carats of diamonds in it (12 in the necklace and 15 in the charm).

Former Central Michigan Chippewas quarterback Tommy Lazzaro has passed away, the school announced Thursday. He was just 27 years old.

Lazzaro -- a Monument, Colorado native -- was involved in a fatal hunting accident this past Sunday in Florida, according to multiple reports.

Lazzaro made 20 career appearances for the Chippewas ... and was part of the team that went 8-6 and made it to the MAC Championship Game against Miami (OH) in 2019. He led the team with two touchdowns in the contest.

Safe to say Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley got the whole Christmas thing down pat ... 'cause the Eagles superstars' offensive linemen turned into a bunch of kids when they got their awesome golf cart gifts for the holidays!!

Philly's quarterback and running back duo pulled out all the stops for their big guys up front this season ... handing out customized four-wheelers with their names and numbers printed on 'em at a practice earlier this week.

The Eagles just shared video of how the linemen reacted to the kind gesture ... and they were clearly thrilled with their new items.

Christmas is over, but Xavier Legette's still in the giving mood -- although his teammates might not appreciate his latest round of gifts ... as it featured none other than raccoon meat!!

The Carolina Panthers wideout brought in his favorite dish for his squad the day after he chowed down on it for his Dec. 25 dinner ... and he had so much of it leftover, he even offered some to media members.

Most of the people in the vicinity of the unique protein were startled by its appearance ... as it looked far more like ground turkey or pulled pork than bites of a wild animal.

It's great to be a Mahomes this week -- even the ones barely old enough to walk -- 'cause just after Patrick Mahomes won his Christmas Day game ... he doled out some amazing presents to his kids!!

The NFL superstar's wife, Brittany, just showed on social media that she and her hubby balled out for little Bronze and Sterling's Dec. 25 ... gifting them lifelike toy cars!

Bronze -- who just turned two years old -- scored a matte black Mercedes ... and he clearly loved it, as Mom called him the "happiest boy ever" in a snap of him in the driver's seat.

Nina Thomas clearly isn't letting allegations that she swindled her ex, Earl Thomas, out of millions of dollars affect her personal life ... she attended Beyoncé's big concert Wednesday -- and it looked like she had a blast.

The estranged wife of the former Seattle Seahawks superstar hit up NRG Stadium for the Texans vs. Ravens Christmas game in Houston ... and rocked out to Queen Bey at halftime in some great seats.

Nina -- wearing a lowcut spaghetti strap top, some blue jeans and a cowboy hat -- crooned 'Yoncé's tunes along with the musician, and sported a big grin on her face the entire time.

Dave Portnoy is not a fan of Beyoncé and he clearly wants the world to know it ... publicly ripping her during her big Christmas Day halftime show.

The Barstool Sports honcho went in on Queen Bey on Wednesday as she was serenading NRG Stadium in Houston with "Cowboy Carter" tunes ... declaring her "LOST" without Destiny's Child.

Portnoy didn't elaborate much further as he watched the "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" songstress croon during the Ravens vs. Texans intermission ... although he did encourage his fans to roast her on his outlet's new Jon Gruden show, "The Shred Line."

LeBron James wants the NFL to stay in its own lane ... saying even though he loves his football as much as the next person, the league needs to leave the Christmas entertainment to the NBA.

King James made the declaration in his on-court interview following the Los Angeles Lakers' thrilling 115-113 road win over Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday ... hours after the NFL's two games were completed.

Despite the Shield's matchups involving some of the biggest athletes in the league like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry -- as well as performances from Mariah Carey and Beyoncé -- the football action wasn't nearly as exciting  ... as neither contest was competitive.

Travis Kelce is officially Kansas City's all-time leader in receiving touchdowns ... and a bunch of Chiefs fans are loving it -- including Taylor Swift!!!

The future Hall of Famer broke Tony Gonzalez's mark of 76 career receiving TDs in the third quarter of K.C.'s Christmas Day win over the Pittsburgh Steelers ... and his girlfriend was one of the first people to show him support after the feat.

The pop star took to Instagram to throw a "like" on the Chiefs' post commemorating the accomplishment ... and, of course, Swifties everywhere gushed over their romance yet again.

Beyoncé brought the house -- make that the entire stadium -- down ... delivering the greatest festive gift of all time with her NFL Halftime show at the Texans' Christmas clash with the Baltimore Ravens.

The iconic singer gifted us the perfect Christmas-Cowboy mash-up in her hometown of Houston, performing tracks from her latest album, "Cowboy Carter" -- which all streamed live on Netflix.

As you can see, Bey was in full-energy high gear, delivering tunes like "16 Carriages," "Spaghetti," "Jolene," and "Texas Hold 'Em" ... with special cameos from the likes of Shaboozey and Post Malone.

NFL fans don't need a Hail Mary for Christmas this year ... 'cause Mariah Carey just delivered a festive touchdown of her own with a show-stopping performance ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers clash.

Now streaming on Netflix, Mariah brought the holiday magic with her iconic pre-taped "All I Want For Christmas Is You" performance atop a festive float, with clips of people at home and in bars vibing to her festive banger while celebrating those NFL victories.

The clip of Mariah in her dazzling red is peak Christmas vibes -- with loads of intertwined NFL highlights and a surprise Kevin Hart cameo!

Jayden Daniels sure seems confident Travis Hunter can continue dominating on both offense and defense even in the pros ... telling TMZ Sports the Colorado star is "a special player."

Hunter, of course, just won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday for the way he played both wide receiver and cornerback for the Buffs in 2024 ... but many in the NFL world have wondered if he can keep that two-way stardom going after he gets drafted in April.

Daniels -- who's currently tearing up the league in his rookie season with the Commanders -- certainly believes he can ... and, in fact, he's cheering for him to do so.

Martin Gramatica is opening up about his difficult childhood ... saying he didn't truly realize how hard life as a young boy was until he had children of his own -- something he writes about in his new memoir.

TMZ Sports recently chatted with the longtime NFL kicker and Super Bowl champion about "Beyond The Uprights: The Intimate Memoir Of Martin Gramatica."

"I had a very abusive father that I speak about," Gramatica told Babcock, adding he wasn't broaching the topic for sympathy. The opposite, as a matter of fact.

Pacman Jones is clearly sick and tired of hearing people give their thoughts on Travis Hunter's relationship ... because he just told Dez Bryant to "shut the f*** up" about the couple.

The former NFL cornerback went in on the ex-Cowboys superstar during a rant on his "Pacman Jones Show" this week ... saying straight up Dez needs to keep his thoughts on Hunter and his fiancée, Leanna Lenee, to himself.

The 41-year-old added that anyone else with hot takes on the issue should pipe down as well.

Struggling to come up with food ideas for Beyoncé's Christmas Day halftime show? Fear not ... celeb chef Andrew Zimmern is offering up some snack hacks to help you crush it at the Dec. 25 party!!

The host of "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" tells TMZ Sports ... the real key is variety.

According Zimmern, there will be two types of people at Yoncé's concert -- ones who will be glued to the TV ... and the others who will enjoy the audio while making their way to the food table.

The Baltimore Ravens better hope they don't need to make many offensive halftime adjustments on Wednesday -- 'cause Lamar Jackson says he's skipping the intermission locker room talk for Beyoncé.

The quarterback -- who many feel is currently the frontrunner for the NFL's MVP award -- let his team and fans know on Monday he'll be on the sidelines for Yoncé's Christmas Day concert at NRG Stadium in Houston.

It's, of course, extremely rare for players to opt out of halftime meetings in favor of shows -- the last guy who did it, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson at Super Bowl LVI, received a ton of backlash.