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TMZ’s Photos Of Clay Matthews Leave Fans In Shock After He “Got Some Work Done” To His Face — “Is This Real?” [PHOTOS]

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This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Clay Matthews smiling
Clay Matthews (Photo via Reuters Connect)

Clay Matthews spent a decade terrorizing NFL quarterbacks as one of the league’s most recognizable pass rushers. Fans knew exactly what he looked like on Sundays for years.

That familiarity is exactly what made Friday afternoon so strange. A photo of Matthews started circulating online, and almost nobody recognized him at first glance.

The image came from TMZ, which posted it alongside a caption claiming Matthews had been “spotted out grabbing groceries looking VERY different after apparently getting some work done.”

NFL fans immediately jumped into the replies, confused by what they were seeing.

The Photo Wasn’t What It Initially Appeared To Be

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 25: Clay Matthews #52 of the Green Bay Packers (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Matthews built his reputation as a six-time Pro Bowler across an 11-year career, racking up 91.5 sacks and 17 forced fumbles along the way. None of that matched the person in the picture.

Reactions poured in fast, and not everyone fell in the same place.

“Bro is jacked even in the face,” one fan observed.

“@grok is this real,” another asked.

“How did he spent all of his MONEY on his plastic surgery???” someone queried.

“Gotta wonder if clay mathews can sue tmz for this,” someone else wondered.

“Yall are the absolute worst. Zero media ethics, just clout,” one user piled on.

“Yall really got fooled by AI that easily?” a fan wrote.

It didn’t take long for people to notice the real explanation. TMZ tagged the post with “#ad,” a clear signal that something else was going on beneath the surface.

The image itself gave away the rest, too, since Matthews appeared clearly AI-generated, which lines up with a pattern that’s already drawn criticism elsewhere in NFL media this year.

Of course, it also got hit with a community note.

Matthews Has A Real Reason To Be In The Spotlight Right Now

GREEN BAY, WI – CIRCA 2010: In this photo provided by the NFL, Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers (Photo by NFL via Getty Images)

Netflix has brought Matthews on as part of its studio team for Thursday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. The matchup is significant, too, since it marks the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game held in Australia.

He’ll join a lineup that includes Michael Irvin and Nick Foles for pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage. That platform gives Matthews a natural opportunity to address the viral photo directly, whether the stunt was his idea or simply timed to his new gig.

It isn’t the only Green Bay storyline making headlines this week, either. The Packers also received a legal update involving Josh Jacobs just one day before Matthews’ photo took over social media.

For now, the AI photo has done exactly what a Week 1 ad campaign is supposed to do. It got people talking, even if most of them still aren’t totally sure what they just saw.

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