Hilarious detail in sporting icon's eye-watering restaurant tip

Former NFL star Chad Johnson has hilariously called out NBA superstar James Harden after leaving the latest in a series of generous restaurant tips.

Johnson - a former wide receiver who played 11 seasons in the NFL - has a reputation as one of the best tippers in the business.

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The 43-year-old always accompanies screenshots of his tips with the same Bible verse, which reads: “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

For his latest act of kindness though, the American football great decided get a little cheeky after visiting Harden's Thirteen Houston restaurant over the weekend.

Alongside a photo of the bill which totalled $107.17, the image showed Johnson's whopping US$1300 (AU$1670) gratuity for the restaurant staff.

However, it was the hilarious message at the bottom of Johnson's receipt that sealed the deal.

“James Harden is scared to play me in FIFA!!” He wrote.

The funny message and incredible tip quickly prompted a response from a grateful Harden, whose Brooklyn Nets are facing the Boston Celtics in their first-round NBA Playoffs series.

“@OCHOCINCO really tipped my staff at my restaurant $1300,” Harden said on his Instagram story, alongside a picture of the receipt.

“That’s love bro! And we can line the FIFA up any day. You’ve been running for some years now.”

Over the weekend, Johnson also made headlines for tipping a server a whopping $1K on a $4.28 meal at Houston’s Turkey Leg Hut.

Johnson's generous tipping spree continues

Johnson is famous for being generous to restaurant staffers and in 2020 he marked the reopening of restaurants during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with another amazing restaurant tip.

Clearly overjoyed for staff at Havana’s Cuban Cuisine, he dug deep into his pockets after racking up a food bill totalling US $37.40 ($A57).

Rather than leaving the standard 15 to 20 percent gratuity, Johnson went completely above and beyond - signing off for a staggering $1000 tip ($A1527).

To put the extraordinary figure into context, the NFL legend's tip worked out to be more than 2700 percent of the actual bill.

He even left a touching note with the bill that read: “Congrats on re-opening, sorry about the pandemic, hope this helps. ‘I love you.’”

The restaurant extended its gratitude to Johnson on Facebook, applauding him for the gesture in "these most difficult times".

“We would like to thank Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson for his continued patronage,” the restaurant posted.

“We greatly appreciate your generosity to our employees now during these most difficult times. Many blessings to you and your family. Thank you again!

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