Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a "special thanks" from Beyonce at the end of her "Lemonade" special this weekend ... and TMZ Sports has learned it all has to do with a favor the team did for Jay Z.

We didn't notice any players in the special ... or stadium shots or any other obvious Bucs references -- so, we asked the team ... why did Bey shout-out TB?

A rep for the team told us, "We actually were not involved with Lemonade, it was actually just a thank you for allowing Jay-Z to come and work out at our facilities during their time here in Tampa as they were preparing for the start of her tour."

Turns out, Jay got his pump on at the Bucs facility earlier this month ... and the team was so happy to have him, QB Jameis Winston presented Jay with his own custom Bucs jersey.

"It's an honor to meet you," Winston told Jay at the time. He even offered to take Hov out to the field to throw the ball around ... though it's unclear if that ever happened.

Still, pretty cool to get a shout-out from Bey.

Nick Carter says he wants to be Jameis Winston's booty mentor -- and rule #1 is STAY OUT OF THE STRIP CLUBS IF YOU DON'T WANNA SCREW UP YOUR LIFE!

The Tampa native was on "The Miguel Show" on WPOI in T.B. when he said he knows firsthand about the dangers of being young, rich and famous in one of the best strip club cities in the world ... and doesn't want Winston to make the same mistakes he did.

So, the Backstreet Boy decided to dish out some advice for the Bucs QB:

-- Stay out of the strip clubs
-- Ditch all of your "dummy friends"
-- Get a girlfriend, get married, settle down
-- Keep your nose in the books

When it comes to the Tampa Bay Bucs logo ... Bucco Bruce is out. Jameis Winston is in ... at least according to JW's dad.

Check out the shirt Jameis' dad, Antonor Winston, rocked to the game in New Orleans this weekend, spotted by NFL Network reporter Jeff Darlington (and brought to our attention by BSO).

Jameis Winston learned the hard way ... star power stops at the shorts -- especially when trying to get into a bar with a strict PANTS ONLY dress code.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB was rejected from the Blue Martini bar in Tampa when he tried to get in Friday night while wearing a pair of shorts ... in front of a sign that said, "Dress code strictly enforced."

We spoke with one of the managers ... who tells us, "It was nothing personal. He was not allowed inside because he did not meet the standards of the dress code."

He stole their shellfish ... but Jameis Winston is now officially sponsored by Publix (by way of the Tampa Bay Bucs) ... and the market says they're all about BURYING THE HATCHET.

In fact, it was 1 year ago this week that Winston was busted stealing crab legs ... and as fate would have it, Publix happens to be the official supermarket sponsor of the Bucs.

So, how do store officials feel about teaming up with a guy who jacked their seafood?

"We support our hometown team. We welcome Jameis Winston to the Bucs. We don't hold any grudge against him."

A rep for Publix adds, "We've moved forward, we're past this. We hope Jameis has done the same, and is moving forward."

"Part of our affiliation with the team is to do the right thing for the community. If Jameis has an idea that would make the community better, [we'd] gladly hear out his proposal."

Didn't take long for Jameis Winston to make his first NFL mistake -- deleting his crab leg celebration pic from Instagram hours after he posted it .... and we're guessing he was INSTRUCTED to get rid of it.

In case you didn't see it, Jameis posted a pic showing him eating a big ol' plate of crab legs -- clearly mocking his whole shoplifting arrest thing from last year.

But just like that, it was gone.

BTW -- the timing of the pic is interesting since the NCAA has relaunched an investigation into the incident ... since Winston claims he had a "hook up" at Publix that gave him free food.

It's crab leg time in Tampa Bay ... the Bucs have just selected Jameis Winston with the #1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

The Bucs reportedly launched a serious recon mission into Jameis' personal life to find out if Winston was worth the risk. Clearly, they weren't concerned with what they found.

Jameis Winston will NEVER have to steal shellfish ever again ... 'cause a Tampa restaurant is promising to hook up Winston with more crabs than a Tijuana hooker -- as long as the Bucs draft him #1.

Here's the deal ... there's this place in Tampa called Skipper's Smokehouse that's FAMOUS for it's crab legs -- and the owner of the joint happens to be an FSU alum who graduated in '68.

The people at Skipper's told us they're well aware of Jameis' penchant for crab -- and want the QB to know, if he signs with the Bucs ... they're gonna "hook him up" with all the legs he can eat.

If you needed more proof that the Tampa Bay Bucs stud Mike Evans is an athletic freak, TMZ Sports has video of the 6'5" wideout dunking in a pick-up game and we gotta say ... the dude has bounce.

Evans, who tore up the NFL in his rookie season, was visiting his high school down in Galveston, TX when he decided to take time out to show the local kids what a world class athlete looks like.

Watch, admire, be afraid NFL cornerbacks.

Ready? Ok!

We've got spirit, yes we do!
We've got spirit ... plus an additional $825,000!!!

A former Tampa Bay Bucs cheerleader has reached a settlement with the NFL team in her class action war over unpaid wages ... striking a deal that will get her and 93 other women PAID!!!

As we previously reported, Manouchcar Pierre-Val sued the team claiming the girls were only paid $100 per game ... and zero for practice time and other team events ... which added up to less than $2-per-hour.

She demanded $661k ... but in new docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, the team agreed to fork over $825k. However, after the lawyers take their cut ($264k) the ladies will split the rest of the $561k pot.

Final tally ... each woman will get just under $6k for their troubles.

Jameis Winston tells TMZ Sports -- yes, TMZ Sports -- that it would be "great" to play for an NFL team in Florida ... this just days after he wrapped up a meeting with the Tampa Bay Bucs.

The Heisman Trophy winner landed in New York Wednesday ... and with the NFL Draft just 2 months away, we had to ask the possible #1 pick if he had a preference on which team calls his name.

Winston didn't exactly give anything away ... but he did tell us his favorite movie of all time -- shout-out to Tom Hanks.

One last thing ... Jameis was rockin' Nike sweatpants and a Nike sweatshirt ... but an Under Armour backpack. So, we're guessing he hasn't decided on a sponsorship yet.

He may have cheated to beat NFL star Dashon Goldson in a footrace, but Diddy is no joke when it comes to speed ... so says Goldson who tells us the 45-year-old mogul's a beast in the gym.

As we previously reported, Diddy challenged the Tampa Bay Bucs safety to a 100 yard dash outside of Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Performance Center in L.A. this week ... and won!

Goldson came on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" to defend himself -- and though his explanation is pretty sound, he was clearly impressed by the hip hop star.

Catch TMZ Hollywood Sports on Reelz weekdays at 6PM ET, 3PM PT.

Tampa Bay Bucs safety Dashon Goldson runs the 40 in 4.65 seconds ... and he just got SMOKED in a foot race by Diddy.

For the record, Diddy cheated ... but still, pretty impressive!!! The race went down outside Unbreakable Performance on the Sunset Strip ... where both guys workout on the reg.

After the victory, Diddy was super humble and played the whole thing down ... KIDDING, HE WENT CRAZY AND SHAMED DASHON ON CAMERA!!!

One made it THUNDERSTORM ... the other made it drizzle.

TMZ Sports has learned ... L.A. Clippers star Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Tampa Bay Bucs star Dashon Goldson were two of the stars that hit up the grand opening of Ace of Diamonds in L.A. on Monday.

For the record, Goldson signed a $41.2 million contract in 2013. Davis has made about $26 million in his NBA career.

Which is why it was a bit shocking when Big Baby created his own indoor monsoon that dwarfed Goldson's mini-downpour.

Our strip club sources tell us Davis was throwin' so much cash around, 4 dancers left with $3k each ... and that doesn't include the $5k he dropped around the stage.

Check out the pic below which shows one dancer's take from Davis.

As for Goldson, as one strip club source put it -- "He made it sprinkle."

Sorry ladies, Tampa Bay Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans is officially off the market ... 'cause he just got engaged -- and proposed with a pretty solid diamond ring!

Evans -- who just finished up one helluva rookie season -- popped the question to Ashli Dotson in late December ... right around Xmas and Ashli's 21st birthday.

The two met back in 2013 while Mike was playing ball at Texas A&M ... and things got serious between the two in February 2014 ... when she announced the relationship on social media.

No word on when the two plan on tying the knot.

FYI -- We did some digging ... looks like the ring came in a blue box.

It's got more than 50 diamonds ... yellow AND white gold ... and was designed by Tiffany -- but ex-NFL star Simeon Rice says he's NEVER worn his Super Bowl ring out in public.

Rice was a part of the Tampa Bay Bucs team that smashed the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII back in 2003 -- and got the bling that goes along with the trophy.

But when he was out in NYC yesterday, Rice told us the ring does NOT belong in his wardrobe ... it belongs on his mantle -- and he refuses to wear it out.

Clearly, Simeon doesn't see eye-to-eye on the issue with another famous Rice ... Jerry ...who is often seen rocking his Super Bowl rings out to the nightclubs juts for the hell of it.

Then again, when Jerry rocks his ring out ... he's still got TWO MORE for the mantle.